


Familiar

by ManMagnificent



Category: Pact - Fandom, Parahumans Series - Wildbow, Worm - Fandom
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2019-10-17 21:32:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 68,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17568308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ManMagnificent/pseuds/ManMagnificent
Summary: Taylor gets shot while trying to kill Alexandria and Director Tagg. Having no other option, she's shot by Miss Militia and instead of dying, Taylor is sucked into the Abyss, only to be summoned by the newest Thorburn Heiress, Molly Walker.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summons**

**1.01**

I reached for my power and there was  _nothing._

I was sure there were bugs. I could see the infestation scurrying through the room: Flies and cockroaches gathered around four carcasses placed in the four cardinal directions, all of them surrounded by circles made of what looked like excrement. There were gnats flying through the air and spiders in the process of building their webs in the corners of the room.

There was also more than one rat that I could see, looking in, but not disturbing what looked like it was meticulous work.  _Disgusting,_  but meticulous nonetheless.

I took a breath and then slowly let it out, turning to face a girl who looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. She was wearing a dirtied dress, a sweater than was several sizes too big, with threads sticking out and generally looking unwashed. She was looking in my direction with equal parts fear and desperation.

"What's going on?" I asked. I looked down and could see an intricate circle drawn around me, three sets with symbols scrawled at set points between the circles; the entire thing was connected by lines that stretched to the piles of carcasses and bugs and  _stink._

Where had I been before? I thought and the image of a dark forest flickered through my mind, a fatigue that rang through my body and being  _chased,_  only for the ground to give way and for me to fall  _here._

The two things didn't connect.

"I called you," she said and there was that edge. Her voice shaking, giving me the air of desperation masquerading as courage.

I shook my head. "That doesn't answer anything."

She swallowed. "I wanted something scary," she said. "I wanted something smart, but not too smart. Which meant I couldn't get something too old, too used to this world. So I sent out an invitation, something new, something that isn't bound by the Seal of Solomon."

"Then you're lucky," I said. "Because I have no idea what that means."

A myriad of expressions passed over her face. "By  _that,_ what do you mean?" she asked.

I frowned, but answered, "I mean the Seal of Solomon, among other things."

Part of them being I was supposed to be  _dead._

The memories were clear in my mind: Alexandria just having killed Rachel, Director Tagg with a smug expression and me telling myself that I wouldn't suffer bullies anymore. I'd planned to kill them both. Kill Alexandria. Kill Tagg. Consequences be damned.

But then...Miss Militia.

She'd shot me.

Three bullets at first, but my bugs hadn't stop. I hadn't  _wanted_ them to stop. Then a fourth and final shot that had plunged me into  _hell._

And yet here I was, surrounded by filth and desperation, seemingly alive.

The girl stood tall, feigning a confidence I knew she didn't entirely have. She was holding her body wrong, wringing her hands and would look over her shoulder at even the smallest sound.

"As Thorburn Heir, I bid you to answer."

"No," I returned.

She deflated and quickly tried to keep herself together, but it was too late. I'd seen the moment's weakness and she knew it. That deflated her even more.

"Let's not start this on a bad note. You need my help for some reason. You're desperate, I've seen this sort of desperation before and it tends to send people to doing some stupid stuff."

 _Like not stopping even when they were shot. Like leaving their fathers in the aftermath of everything_  they'd  _done._

I held back the urge to sigh. What I could give to have the power to go back in time, to fix the mistakes that I'd made.

"Let's start things off slowly. Hello," I said. "I'm—"

"Stop," she said and there was that desperation again. "I'm sure that my defences are good, but...there's the chance that I missed something. Don't give me your name. I need you as my trump card and if your name gets out, people might come up with ways to work against you."

It didn't make much sense, but I shrugged. I hadn't been about to give her my real name at any rate. I'd fallen into hell with only my prison clothes. A minute in and I'd been hunted by things both big and small, some human or close to, and others more demon. I'd survived the only way I was comfortable: using bugs to make myself a costume, integrating bits and pieces of other things. Rats that were too large, the pelts of frenzied dogs and wolves and cats and other things.

All of it came together in a suit that was dark, but caked with dirt and dried blood. My hair was the only thing whose darkness was naturally so.

"You can call me Skitter," I said. "What's your name? Beside the whole Thorburn thing?"

"Molly," she said.

"Well, then, Molly," I said, doing my best to sound calm, even if this all didn't make sense yet. For the longest time I'd thought hell had been a delusion, that I was in hospital working through my recovery. But...it had felt so real. It  _still_ felt so real. It felt as though there was a hand just behind me, waiting to drag me back.

 "Why don't we start from the beginning. You need my help?"

"Yes," said Molly. "I need your help. People are after me and...they've been sending things to give me sleepless nights, to make sure that I make a mistake that they can capitalise on."

"Vague," I said.

"It's...complicated," she said. She let out a breath, rubbing her hands over her face and shaking her head. "No. We can't be talking like this, not when there's still so much to be done. I wanted something that wasn't bound by the Seal of Solomon, but it's unfeasible keeping you like you are. Not if you're going to help me, not if I want to be sure that you can help me."

"That's the second time you've mentioned that," I said. "The Seal of Solomon."

"Because it's important," she said. "One of the most important things that magically exists because it's what protects the innocent even if it makes its own problems. But that's not important for you. Where I called you from is called the Abyss. It's...no one is sure what it is, but it's like the recycling bin of reality. I took you out of there before you could be changed too much, which means the Abyss is likely to call you back."

I swallowed, remembering the hell: A dark forest with the only source of light being from a small town in the distance. Every surface slick, every branch sharp and every space that should have offered shelter, cold and  _wet._  There'd been enemies on every turn, meaning I hadn't been able to sleep for my duration. What was worse, when I tracked it, I didn't think that I'd spent more than two days in there.

"I have a feeling you already know that I don't want to go back," I said. "But what does this seal mean?"

"It means you follow the old rules of  _others,"_  she said. "Not harming the innocent, losing power if you lie or break an oath, but you get a steadier footing in reality. If you manage to slip back into the Abyss, you might find that coming back is easier. You don't have to fight  _as_ hard."

"I'd need to know these rules," I said.

"I have a book," she said. "It's not all of them, but you sort of play it by ear from there." She rushed out of the room, making sure that she didn't step on any of the lines or the other symbols that were layered on the floor.

The moment she was out of the room, a study by the looks of it, I moved forward testing if my hand could pass beyond the circle. It couldn't, I was stopped by an invisible wall. I tried to push against it, bring my full weight to bear, but it wasn't worth anything. The circle was unyielding.

I stepped back, sitting in the middle of the circle and letting mind run through everything that had happened. There was falling into hell, or the Abyss as Molly had called it, which was real now when there'd been no proof before. I'd really died and it looked like I wasn't in own universe anymore. Or maybe I was and this had been something hidden from the general populace, or something I'd thought was cape business?

Maybe. Or maybe I was choosing to complicate things, and it was likely that Molly was just a master who had the ability to summon the dead when she had...representations of them? The bugs fit my power, but I didn't like it. Only being my ability.

I pushed the thoughts aside as Molly came back into the room, carrying a book with pages opened. She was starting to speak when there was a crash from outside. She started, glancing towards the window,  _shaking_ when three distinct guffaws started, followed by a song filled with an obscene amount of foul language. She slumped a little, still looking away from me. I could see it in her body language, how she was deciding to be stronger, how she would no doubt be thinking she needed to be crueler, and how that cruelty would be directed at me.

"No," I said. "Calm down. Can they get in the house?"

"No," she said. "At least I don't think so, but..." Her voice shook. "But they  _could._  Something could slip past my defences and what then? I have to use you so—"

"No," I said again. "I'll keep breaking your train of thought, keep you from saying something stupid because I'm thinking that means something? I take it the 'Seal of Solomon' works on you too. That if you say something that might be an oath or definite statement, it'll mean having to do it?"

"How are you catching onto this so easily?" she asked.

What did I get from telling her the truth? Especially when she'd just been about to turn her anger and fear towards me? Bending me to her will?

But she was scared.

If I could. I wanted to be able to help her.

But I also didn't want to be controlled.

"I've been in enough high stakes situations that this doesn't even rate as a one," I said. "I'm calm, which means I can think through things. Take in the detail of what you're saying and figure out the rest. They can't get into the house because of your powers. I don't know who they are, but if they could have, they would have already."

"Or maybe they're trying to get as much fear from the situation as they can before they act," she said. "These  _things,_  they thrive from making my life miserable. And..."

"Take a breath. Calm down. You brought me here to help you. The faster you give me those rules, the sooner I'll be able to do that."

"Just like that?"

"You're thinking that it's too good to be true?" She nodded. "It's because I want to figure things out. How I ended up in...the Abyss. How I can..." I looked at her. "How I can get back home. How I can stop the end of the world."

"End of the world?" Molly said and she didn't believe me one bit.

"Does your world know about Earth Bet or Aleph?" Molly shook her head. "Then it's likely that you won't believe no matter what I say and we should leave it at that. The rules."

Molly nodded, opening her book and starting to read.

***

"The Abyss has a hold over you," Molly started. "It means it can warp you towards being more inhuman. I don't really have an idea what this means, because..." She stopped, looking at me with a spark of distrust. "Because, amongst other reasons, the text isn't clear on what that means."

"But if you were guessing?" I asked.

"If I were guessing, then you'd gradually move away from being you, losing more of your humanity," she said. "The Abyss is described as a recycling bin and when you're recycling something, essentially, that's what you're doing. Changing if from its old state to a new state."

"And humanity is a common enough trend in what's lost?"

"From the Bogeyman I've seen? That I've read about? Yes," she said. "The most common direction is empathy that's lost. Bogeyman come back angry and savage, only wanting to survive..."

"They kill," I said. It wasn't hard to guess when I thought about it in the big picture. The Seal of Solomon first and foremost protected innocents. The only reason that something like that needed to come to being was if there were a lot of... _magical creatures_  that spent their pass time preying on innocents.

I took a breath and slowly let it out, hit by the first time about the stark differences between the air I was breathing now and the air I'd been breathing in the Abyss. Even with the smell of spoiled meats, this was still better. There was less in the smell of death than I'd been accustomed with.

"Can I see the book?" I said. Molly frowned at that,  _suspicious._  "Statements mean something, right? If I lie, then I lose power?"

"You're new, you don't have that much power to begin with except what the Abyss granted you," she said. "But it would make it easier for the Abyss to reclaim you and it would make it harder for you to escape by your own power."

"Right. Then this can work," I told her. "I want to check the book because a part of me doesn't entirely believe that this is true.  A part of me believes that there's a power at work and it's warped your mind. But that book, something  _concrete,_  might help me come to grips with my new reality."

"That sounds all well and good," she said. "But you could just pull me into the circle. Force me to break it."

"Which is why I asked my question before," I quickly put in, not missing a beat. She was scared and predicting the direction her thoughts would move was easy. "I promise that I won't try to escape this circle. That I'll only leave when you grant permission and I won't coerce you towards giving me that permission through threat of bodily harm."

She frowned, her eyes working in thought.

"Promise to give the book back if I ask for it," she said.

"I promise."

She quickly shook her head. "No. Say it. Repeat the promise."

"I promise to give the book back if you ask for it," I said.

She took a few breaths, biting at her lips before she stepped forward, stretching out her arm and throwing the book into the circle. It fell hard against the ground, hard enough that if she'd been a little weaker in the throw, it might have it might have broken the lines. The thought came of how I might have leveraged the situation to get out of here, but I remembered that I'd effectively locked myself in, now. If I lied, then I might escape the circle but then I'd quickly fall back into hell.

I bent low and picked up the book, starting to flip through it. It was  _old,_  the pages frayed and yellowed by age. I brought it close to my nose and it smelled old too.

I let out a long sigh as I opened it, flipping through the text. It would have been easier if the book had been empty as I thought, that this was all just some delusion brought on by her ability. But everything seemed too neat for powers to be involved. Or maybe all of this seemed too broad. Her ability had created this book, it had created abstract rules and it had now created a hell. It just didn't gel with what I knew about how powers worked. I just couldn't see a trigger bringing forward a power like this.

It was better right now to just think that this was another world, that it was a  _magical_ world and that I'd somehow fallen into it at death. If that was true, then all of this was something I needed to take seriously. I started reading through the Seal of Solomon and how it had come together: A 'Practitioner' had made it his duty to look for the worst  _Others_  and bind them under the seal, making it so they couldn't hurt innocents. The magic of the seal had naturally evolved as these things tended to do until the magic had found a way to act on every existing Other.

But there was wiggle room for newly born Others. Such as myself.

If I wanted to, I could disregard the Seal of Solomon and cause wanton chaos, but the book vaguely described that there'd be push back from the spirits; that things would work so I was out of the picture and innocents were protected. I couldn't help but take that to mean that either something would come after me or I'd find myself falling back into the Abyss.

I flipped through until I found something that pointed in the right direction of how things would play out for a denizen of the Abyss, a  _Bogeyman._  It was as Molly had said, that I'd lose less ground to the Abyss by getting a firmer footing in reality. But through that, it would make it easier for me to be summoned, for Practitioners to bind me and have me do their bidding.

_Servitude._

I'd be a slave.

"Are all Others slaves?" I said. Molly started. I hadn't been shouting and my voice wasn't heated, but there was a quality in it that terrified her. "Because that's effectively what I'm locking myself into. I get to partially escape the Abyss, but I open myself up to the whims of a new master."

Molly swallowed. "Every--" She stopped, clearing her throat. "Everything comes at a price. This is the price of your freedom in one capacity. Losing it in another."

"What was the cost to you, I wonder?" I said, my tone accusing.  _Cold._  "Or does that not apply to Practitioners?"

"It does," she said, a whisper. She slumped a little. "But what that price is, doesn't concern you." Her tone changed, going back into that cadence of cruelty I'd stopped before. Even then, I'd sort of sensed that this was how things leaned. But to know it on such concrete terms was different, even if I didn't know why.

She took a breath, holding herself higher,  _straighter._ "You have a choice here," she said. "Either you agree to be bound by the Seal of Solomon and you get a chance of staying  _you._  Or I banish you back into the Abyss where it can further grind you down? Choose. I'll give you a minute."

A definite statement. There was power in that, right? I still didn't know the rules all that well, but the book had had an excerpt about Awakening and how Practitioners gave up lying so their words could have more weight.

I needed to learn more about this world, but I didn't want to learn it from the Abyss. I'd spent two days in that place and they'd been like constantly fighting the Nine. For that matter, memories of the Nine had been so much closer to the surface. Brian splayed and connected to a wall, my head being cut open and through all of it, knowing that if I just gave a little ground, I'd be stronger when the next thing wanted to attack me.

"I agree to be bound by the Seal of Solomon," I said.

Maybe this would be easier, working with something I understood on a level, working with humanity.

Molly let out a relieved breath. "Good," she said, a smile directed inward. "I'll have the book back."

I threw it, making sure to throw it so there wasn't a chance of it hitting the lines.

***

"...and I agree to be bound by the old rules," I finished, feeling the power to the words. For the first time I could feel  _bugs,_  moving from the pelt I wore. There weren't a lot of them, but they were  _select:_  Black Widow and Darwin Bark spiders; Japanese giant hornets; a few different species of cockroaches and flies; and few crabs that fell out of the costume I wore, seemingly from nowhere.

The book had said there'd be symbol of my accepting the binding, a power source. I guess this was it.

Molly let out another relieved breath.

"For your first task," she said. "There are things outside the house. I want you to kill or capture one of them. You have thirty minutes and then you have to return to this circle. In the time while you're out, you're not to hurt me or try to hurt me in anyway. Do you accept the deal?"

"I accept," I said, a little absently. I was feeling out the degree of movement with the bugs, already planning about how I'd start breeding the spiders and I was having them spooling out silk to use. Hell hadn't offered me the good stuff and I liked this, even if it had come at my freedom.

"Then you can go about your task," she said.

I stepped forward and then over the lines. At once I was hit by activity, my power reaching out and grabbing every bug. Those in the house I called them near, fitting them on my person and on the inside of my costume, segregating them for utility. There were other that I didn't pull close, instead letting them give me an image of the world outside.

I could feel the rats that were skulking in the rooms on this floor and the one below, and I tracked movement outside. The forms were wrong, the skin too thick on others while it was too hairy to be human on some. Most of the forms were short, the size of toddlers, but there were adult sized people too, standing with some of them talking. There weren't enough bugs for me to hear what they were saying.

"You aren't moving," Molly said, her voice shaky. I looked in her direction and she looked pale,  _scared._  Did she believe she'd made a mistake? Had she made a mistake?

"No," I said, paying thought to what I said. I was bound to the truth, which meant I had to be particular. "At least not how I  _think_ you mean. But I'm about to, first though I need to ask. Do you have anything to eat?"

"Yes?" she said. "I don't know? What do you eat?"

"I'd really like some bacon," I said. "Maybe a cheese burger or something else fatty and 'bad' for you. But I'd settle for anything edible."

"I can make you a sandwich," she said.

"Do you have tea?"

She nodded.

"That too, please. And while you do that, you're going to give me an outline on what I'll be dealing with."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summons**

**1.02**

There were twelve beings outside. The smallest was the size of a small rat, humanoid with coarse skin, the largest fat and scaly, wearing tattered clothing and scarred skin. The small figures were clustered together, talking among themselves in hushed voices and letting out guffaws at times.

Molly had given me thirty minutes and five of those I'd spent gathering more bugs from the neighbouring marshlands. I kept it hush, making sure that they weren't tracked. They likely didn't know I was here yet and I could use that to my advantage.

"You're still not out there," I heard Molly say. She'd poured me my third cup of tea and I was savouring this one while I worked.

"I am," I said. "I have to wonder, how does this work? That was a lie right there?" Her eyes bulged outward, her mouth opening. "Do I challenge you on it and get an advantage? What was it you said? How was it you said it? I bid you to answer and I want it to be the truth."

"N-No, you can't," she said and I felt something, almost like fear but it came from the outside. Where fear coming from me might have left me petrified, this one left me a little sated. "You're here. I was telling the truth. Your physical body is here and that's  _you_ even if you're working through other means."

She was arguing against me, denying only the part where I'd said she'd lied but nothing else. Was I along the right track? Was this about interpreting truth? But how did that work? Who decided which side was telling the truth?

"My physical body, yes, but that's not  _me_ ," I said. "My power is inseparable from me. It was out there the moment I left the circle. It was a question before, but now it's a statement. I say that's you've lied Molly and as payment I bid you to answer my questions and answer them truthfully."

Molly nodded. "How does this work? You can call someone forsworn and demand something from them, like you did just now," she said. "Other  _Others_ might use it to gain an advantage, maybe small but it might mean possession in a long enough period. But something this small, it wouldn't work. What were the other questions?"

I took a second, thinking. I'd taking to phrasing questions more than statements in an effort not to lie. Was she trying to catch me out? I tried to trace my thought process.

I'd been confused and I'd wanted to know how it worked.

"Was that a lie? Do I challenge you for an advantage? There were others, but I wasn't entirely paying attention. You don't have to answer them."

Molly sighed. "Was it a lie? The spirits seem to think so," she said. "I think I've already answered the last."

I nodded. "You can consider me sated," I said. A piece in the grander puzzle. I tracked the bugs that I had and it was enough that I could confidently move against a cape whose powers I knew, but it would be harder when I didn't have a good image of what their abilities were.

Molly had given me something of a breakdown of the Others that might be outside: mainly Goblins and Bogeymen.

Goblins were creatures of nature, weak against elementally infused metals, or against pure natural elements like Holly or running water. Bogeymen were creatures of the Abyss and they were weak against things with  _permanence,_ however vague that was.

Would the same weaknesses work against me?

I pushed it aside as I came to a stand after finishing off the last of my tea.

"I'll be going about to my task, then," I said as I moved towards the door that lead outside. I started moving the bugs I'd collected so they'd be at the door, still under the cover of secrecy but some of the others had noticed. The bigger  _smelly_ things which might have been Goblins and the humanoid things which were no doubt other Bogeymen.

I was an unknown threat and if they were smart, they'd do what Molly was doing now, testing me out to see the sort of power I had. Going by whether I'd passed or failed their assessment, they'd either all attack and kill me, or I'd be able to use the clout of being unknown to get them all to leave.

But that wasn't the direction I'd be moving. I checked the side of my costume, feeling for two things: The first was a large, curved jaw of something I'd killed in the Abyss, more animal than human and with razor sharp teeth; the second had been something I'd picked up, a piece of metal that was largely corroded. I'd used some of my pelt to form a handle, tying the thing off with silk so that it wouldn't slide.

The metal was sharp and rusty, it would mean anything that tried to kill me would die in turn through infection. It had been stupid relying on it, especially when my working theory had been being in hell. But I'd taken comfort in what I could explain.

It was metal and it would be useful here. I wasn't sure the degree of use I'd get, but I was willing to test that out.

I tested the door and found I couldn't open it. I twisted the doorknob and it was too strong, my grip too feeble. Looking at the door it looked  _old_ , like it might have been in the family for generations:  _an object of permanence._

"If you would," I said turning to Molly.

She was standing, looking at me. She was still scared and I could feel it, even if she was trying to steel herself. "You called me forsworn, before," she said. "I could try and get things to an even point. Restore balance."

"You could try," I said. "But it wouldn't work."

I was already started to work outside. Some of the bugs I'd collected were spiders and they'd been spooling out their own threads of silk which were weaker, I felt, than those I'd been spooling out with my own magical bugs. Flies and other flying bugs were coordinating with the spiders, making so that they formed circles around the Goblins and Bogeymen that were on their own, waiting until they could find opportunity with the others.

I wasn't sure if it would work, but silk was long lasting and it was pure in the relative sense of the word. The rules to this place worked with relativity, it seemed, convincing 'the spirits' that the relative was objective and then going from there. I needed to figure out how far I could stretch this and this was the first step towards that.

Molly frowned. "You're probably already doing something with the bugs, aren't you?"

I shrugged. She sighed, walked forward and opened the door.

***

It was the early hours of the morning, with the sun starting to peek from behind the forest closing off the back of the property. Out of the house and the air was even fresher than in the house. I took a moment to breathe in while my bugs flew into my costume, bulking me up and making my hair longer, more alive.

I built up my costume as it had been when I'd been Skitter. This was all about presence. I knew what my enemies would be weak against, but I still didn't know them or how they fought. Which meant I had to unsettle them before things started.

There were seven Goblins and three Bogeymen. Four of the Goblins were clustered together, while there were three that were on their own. These were the largest of the Goblins and they were just lumbering,  _waiting._

It only made sense that magical creatures would have magical abilities. Molly hadn't told me about those, only telling me that it was common that they be strong and nothing more. She was testing me and this would be a good test for me too because I would be making my escape soon.

Just as bugs were layering out in the field, there were bugs in the house, on Molly so I could track her and in the study already working.

There was a small porch with a flight of stairs. I stepped down, the wood creaking under me. The sound was caught by no less than five beings, four Goblins and one Bogeyman. Three of the Goblins that caught the sound were in the cluster, which meant there were four Goblins that started moving towards me, but only one managed to start getting close, the others bound by circles of silk. The circles of silk didn't work on the larger Goblins nor did they work on the Bogeyman.

Which raised a conundrum.

Molly's task was already complete. But she'd given me thirty minutes, which meant I could  _flex_ , figure things out from the other side.

The smaller Goblin rounded the side of the house, the size of a squirrel and moving  _fast_. I turned in its direction and the thing ran to the side, avoiding my gaze as it started scaling up a wall. I tried following it again and I found that it was too fast, only getting closer. I stopped trying to follow it and instead used my bugs to track it, having my bugs stretching out lines of silk in preparation.

The Goblin jumped off the side of the building and I took a few steps back, leaving behind a cloud of human shaped bugs. The Goblin flew into the bugs and was instantly caught by threads of silk, hoisted into the air by the giant hornets. It tried to fight, but more silks strands wound around the Goblin, holding it  _tight_.

I  _felt_ the fear, the same way I'd felt it when I'd called Molly forsworn. I knew that I was gaining an advantage. I pulled the bugs back towards me, building myself up as the larger Goblin and Bogeyman rounded the corner, coming to face me.

I walked towards the Goblin that was on the ground, speaking in a high-pitched voice,  _cursing_ at me. I pulled out that ragged metal knife and held it for the Goblin to see.

"Stay still," I said. "Or I'm going to do my best to try and kill you."

The Goblin stilled, its fear rising a notch. I looked towards the toddler sized Goblin and the Bogeyman, both of them hung back, just looking in my direction. I could feel the others moving, the small Goblins still trying to get out of my circles while the remaining Goblins and Bogeyman started walking in my direction.

"Can you speak?"

The Goblin didn't move, didn't answer. Right, I'd told it I would do my best to kill it if it didn't still. If it talked then I'd be forced to follow through.

"You can talk only so far as to answer my questions," I said to the Goblin. "Now, can you speak?"

"Of course I fucking can, you rancid  _cunt_ ," it said, still with that tiny voice but with satisfaction. I heard a low chuckle from the Goblin that was in the distance. The thing, male going by the exposed genitalia, had a large grin with largely uneven teeth. It glared in my direction with bloodshot eyes.

"Right," I said. "On a scale of one to ten, how smart are you?"

Confusion flickered on the thing's face. "I dunno. Why does it fucking matter?"

"I suppose that's answer enough," I said. "I'm going to give you three things you're to do, then I'll release you. Do you accept?"

I didn't know if the 'magic' in my world was real, but three was special there. It was better to just run with it.

"Yes," the thing said, eager,  _excited_. It hadn't been able to answer, hadn't been able to think of a loophole through the question and everything else made me think it wasn't that smart to begin with.

"Good," I said. "First thing, you're going to answer three questions from me. Second, you're never going to attack Molly again, physically or--"

"You might want to be more specific!" the Bogeyman shouted. He was a guy wearing a suit and tie. He looked prim and proper, save that his clothes were frayed with a series of bullet holes in his chest. Even so he looked good save for a scar that ran over his mouth.  "There're a lot of people named Molly in the world."

I gave him a nod and congealed a mass of bugs behind Molly.

"You're Molly Thorburn, right?" I said and she jumped, letting out a small shriek. She'd been watching form the window and had missed the bugs. She looked at them and then turned towards me before she shook her head.

"Molly Walker," she said, her voice shaky. Not that I needed cues from her voice when I could feel the spike of fear coming from her, directed towards me.

"Second, you're never going to attack Molly Walker again, physically or mentally, and you can't order someone to do it too."

"That's three things!" the Goblin said. "You fucked up, you shit stain. I know about this! You said  _and_ , that means those were  _two_ things. You can't fucking order me around more than that."

She was shouting it, speaking to the spirits like Molly and I had done when I'd called fought her lie. Could I fight it? Was it even worth it?

I nodded. "Those are the things you'll have to do and I'll let you go," I said. "The latter two are non-actions, so I'll take promises that you won't do what I said. Do we agree?"

The thing had a toothy grin on as it gave a quick nod.

I had a much larger audience now. All three of the Bogeymen and all three of the Goblins, one of them was the largest Goblin I'd seen yet, tall and round, hunched forward and with a calcified exterior. But they still weren't acting, more curious than anything.

There were bugs on their person that I could track. I checked that Molly was still in the kitchen watching and the bugs in the study were still doing what I'd told them. I directed more into the room because I'd lost some as my plan moved forward.

"Answer my questions, make the promises and I'll let you go," I said. The Goblin nodded again. "Why are you attacking Molly Walker?"

"The Thorburn bitch has a mark on her head," the Goblin said.

"Who gave her the mark?"

"The Council."

"Why?"

"She's a diabolist."

I nodded. "Promises," I said.

"I promise I won't attack Molly Walker, mentally or physically. I promise I won't order someone to do the job for me too."

I frowned at that and then shook my head. "No. You're not the one that gave her the mark, that means the job would likely be for someone else. Make it broader. You won't order someone to do it."

"I promise I won't fucking order some fucking shit bag to fucking attack that pussy bitch," the Goblin said.

I gave it a nod, setting my bugs to start undoing the silk. I stepped back, looking at it while I tracked how the others were moving. Almost all of them were  _smiling_ , expectant. It was odd.

"You can go," I said to the Goblin. It gave me a look, took a step and was immediately flooded with bugs, silk starting to wind around it and capturing it again.

" _NO!_   _NO!_  No, you fucking bitch, you said you'd let me go. I call bullshit! I call bullshit!"

"I did let you go," I said, "and then I recaptured you."

Two of the Goblins were laughing, one of them even slapping a knee it found the thing so funny. I made a mental note that Goblins didn't have species loyalty and they took joy in others' suffering.

"Same deal as before," I said. "Three things and I let you go?"

"No! Fuck you,  _no!_ You let me leave and you don't try to recapture me ever again!"  it said, still shouting, still trying to fight through the silk that bound it.

"Ever is a very long time," I said. "How about. I let you go and don't try to recapture you for ten minutes. It's then your prerogative to get as far away as you can from me in that time, but if you can't, I'll be able to capture you again." It moved to speak but a fly slipped into its mouth, choking. " _But_ , since those are two things, there's an  _and_ after all, you do me six things this time?"

"Yes.  _Fuck you,_ but yes," it said.

I smiled, not that it would be able to see it. "First thing. You'll answer any question in as much detail as possible," I said. "Second, you'll answer six questions that I ask you. Third, you'll never try to attack me, physically or emotionally, directly or indirectly, through your power or the power of others."

I could feel more fear running off of the thing.

"Fourth, you'll stick close to me until such a time that you've answered all of my questions." The fear rose a notch. "Fifth, so long as you're in my company, you'll work to protect me from harm, physical or magical. Sixth, you're never to swear again, not even through innuendo."

There was still fear but now there was anger, the thing with so little eyes  _glaring_. I was sure that if I made a mistake, the little thing would be out for my blood. What was the deal again? I'd said I'd let it  _leave._

I undid the threads that bound it. I'd let it go, but I hadn't helped it  _leave_ , I was lucky that it had changed the wording or this might not have worked.

I looked at the others. There were six Others that would go against me and from their smiles, from how they'd expected the play against the Goblin, they would be more competent combatants.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about anything from me," said the man in the suit. He was smiling, showing teeth that were all too sharp, the monster beneath the surface? "I quite like watching you work."

I moved bugs towards them and then spoke, "What about the rest of you?" I felt the fear and I could track where it was coming from like I could sense my bugs. It was low and it didn't last, but nonetheless it was there.

Three Bogeyman, and one of them had already said they wouldn't attack. The two, a woman with Asian features, wearing a white dress and with long black hair that hid her face, and a creatures that was humanoid in shape, but with lizard-like features, both shrugged.

"It's not worth it," the Lizard Man said.

The woman said something that might have been Japanese.

"She says she won't attack if she get one of your captured Goblins," the Lizard Man said.

"She can have two if she's willing to leave, not attack ever again," I said. The woman shook her head. "A week then?" She nodded. "A week. And you?" I said to the Goblins.

"Cowards, Goblins," said the man in the suit. "They'll attack you if they see weakness, when your back is turned, but with as strong as you seem. They'll stand back. Do nothing."

"Fuck you, ingrate," a Goblin said. The man in the suit frowned at that, moving a hand to his side and coming out with a silver blade. The goblin that had spoken growled, glaring in his direction. "You don't have the  _balls."_

The man in the suit smiled. "Gingersnatch, if I remember correctly," he said. "I'll make a note of you."

I disregarded them and  _moved_ , still projecting that I wasn't afraid. My Goblin followed as I walked. I tracked the other three, seeing if they'd move and they did, kept watching as I bound the others under agreements to serve for their freedom.

***

"That thing," Molly started, but I interrupted her. I'd finished with everything outside and the Bogeymen had all left, with the Goblins discussing if they should leave. I'd planted bugs on the ground and they were unaware that I was listening in.

"Won't hurt you, she's agreed to that," I said. "And I have to come in to go to the circle, unless I don't have to anymore."

"No," she said. "You can go."

I nodded and went into the house, Jizzguzzler following after me. Molly looked at the little Goblin before she asked, "Would you like something to eat or drink? I don't have much? Some bread and meats, juice and coffee?"

"Raw meat?" she said.

"I have uncooked meat," said Molly. "I'll go and get you some."

I frowned at that. Did she suddenly trust the Goblin? Or was there something else?

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Hospitality," said Jizzguzzler. "It's one of the old rules. She's effectively binding me so I have to play nice. If I break hospitality then I face karmic backlash."

I nodded, entered the study and then walked into the circle. Molly quickly came back and she had a frozen drumstick in hand. Jizzguzzler hadn't entered the circle with me but she was close.

"Here," said Molly. Guzzler took the drumstick and started biting into it, eating even though the thing was frozen. Molly looked at me. "You were surprisingly good out there for being new. You were a real Bogeyman."

"I take it I passed your test?" I said.

"Yeah," she said. "You're powerful, which means it will be worth something sending you out against the problematic elements, the people that don't get the hint that I want to be left alone."

I shook my head. Molly frowned and I felt the small bit of fear.

"No," she said. "You can't have."

"I have," I said. I walked forward and stepped over the circle, stepping  _out._

"You said you wouldn't try to escape," she said, accusing.

"My mother taught English," I said. "Which means I have a good relationship with the English language, even if I'm still prone to making mistakes. Try: to attempt or test. I didn't attempt to escape. I acted and  _succeeded."_

"But--"

"Not mentioning the obvious," I said. "If I remember correctly then I said I wouldn't try to escape the circle. Escape means gain freedom and in that case I said I wouldn't try to gain freedom from circle. You  _gave_ it to me, giving me room to move."

I pointed for the ground. Bugs had crushed smaller bugs so that they broke the outermost circle. Everything was meticulous, everything had purpose, even the last circle meant something to the greater configuration. I'd broken it which meant it wasn't working or not enough?

It didn't matter, the important part was that I was  _out._

_I was free._

"The other circles are alright and I agreed to return to the circle, so that's me keeping my promise. But I'm no longer bound, no longer your slave."

Molly swallowed. I could feel her fear and it was exhilarating. The constant source of fear left me stronger. I reached for the power, trying to direction it and another crab appeared from my suit, falling and hitting the ground. I checked for the power I'd accumulated and I found it was smaller than it had been before.

I had a reserve of power now and through it I could maybe conjure more bugs and crabs for my ability to work under. Could I direct it? Pick the bugs that I wanted to conjure? Or could I use the power in another direction? Maybe to stave off the pull of the Abyss?

"What now?" she asked.

"Offer me some tea," I said. "It's what any good host would do. You did invite me here, after all."

She looked downtrodden, but she nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summons**

**1.03**

Guzzler had largely finished eating the meat from her drumstick and she was now chewing at the bone. Not eating it, but she was forming a weapon, making it sharp. When she noticed me looking, she found an orifice and shoved the bone in deep, an expression of pleasure spreading through her.

I looked away, but I could still sense her through my bugs. I couldn't relax and think that she wouldn't find a loophole, that she wouldn't find some way to attack me.

But even so, a large portion of my attention was Molly and the constant stream of fear I felt from her, slowly filling up my reserves.

She was wringing her hands, fixated on watching every move I made. She would glance at Guzzler at times before she would shudder. There was still an air of trying to be brave, but it wasn't something she was too good at doing.

"Try paying attention to your breathing, to your body," I said. She started, the fear rising a bit. It took me a second before I knew why, I'd been unconsciously using my bugs to speak. I made the mental effort to speak only using my voice.

"What?" she said.

"Pay attention to your body, how you move, your facial expressions," I said. "What you do projects something to the world. How you're sitting now, slightly hunched, wringing your hands, it makes me think  _fear_. That's the one thing you don't want an enemy seeing."

She looked confused.

"You're helping me?" she said. I shrugged. "Why?"

"Because, for now, I'm safe." I said. "I'm not sure about this. There are rules that I don't know, stuff I might not be understanding correctly, but hospitality is at work right? You're protected and I'm protected?"

She nodded, swallowing. "So long as you're a guest I lose something if I try to attack you and vice versa," she said.

"I want to use that protection to my best advantage," I said. "Figure things out. Figure this world out. I'm hoping you can help me."

"What happens if I refuse?"

"Then I leave and look for help elsewhere," I said. "I might have to pay a price for that, and with a mark against you, it's likely that I might be sent to give you a hard time like the other Others."

"You're threatening me," Molly said.

"I..." I thought about the word. Threat: a promise of harm, if I was remembering correctly. "It's not exactly a promise, but it's a possibility," I said. "I'm in the unfortunate position that I don't have a complete idea of what's going on. I have to fill in that picture and that's through the help of other more knowledgeable people. I'm offering you first opportunity to help me and I'll possibly help you."

"How?" she asked. "If you were to help me, how would you do it?"

"This is a hypothetical," I said. She nodded. "But we could strike a deal where I get a book to read that might give me knowledge I otherwise don't have, and for that, I could make sure you don't have to worry about something coming for you while you slept."

"Is it that obvious?" she said.

"That you haven't been sleeping? That you've been too scared to take care of yourself? Yes," I said. "It might not be all of the truth, but it's what I see."

She let out a shaky breath, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. She swallowed, looking at me for a long moment before she said, "It's been two weeks since I've had to deal with this shit. Like you, being dropped into a world I didn't entirely understand, but I had enemies."

I could feel a certain pity for her, she certainly looked like what she was saying was true, but... "So you saw fit to bring someone else into the same situation?"

"Some _thing_  else," she said. "Others...most of them are violent."

"I've noticed that," I said.

"I didn't think that you'd be so...human, honestly."

"And even when I was, you still weren't guilty enough to let me go," I said.

"And die? No," she said. "I don't want to die. I don't want what follows because it'll mean..." She let out a long breath. "You have no idea how complicated this all is, how much the universe is working to fuck me over."

"I don't," I said. "I don't even really have an idea how the universe is working to fuck me over."

Guzzler started moaning now. I could feel her arm moving and I stopped myself from looking in her direction. Molly wasn't so lucky. She glanced in the Goblin's direction and gagged.

"Stop that," she said.

"As the humble hosts requests," Guzzler said. She moved onto another orifice, this time moaning rather  _loudly_.

"You're bound by hospitality to be a good guest," said Molly.

"But I am," said Guzzler. "Making myself more  _comfortable_  as your hospitality slowly drains my essence."

I frowned. Did it have something to do with the weakness that Goblins have? Was it something I could use?

"Well,  _stop_ ," said Molly. "And don't put that bone in any other orifices."

Guzzler stopped, pulling out the bone and smearing it against herself. I hadn't known Goblins long, but I could see they were disgusting,  _disturbing_  creatures. But I understood them on a level, they wanted to get a rise out of someone through their antics, whether it was fear or just annoyance. I wasn't about to give Guzzler that.

"Let's go back to the deal," I said. Molly nodded. "Are we going to have a deal?"

"Looks a lot like it's going to happen," Guzzler commented. I  didn't look at her, but I knew she would have a grin. She'd just forced me to use one of my remaining five questions. I'd have to be on the look out for that.

"Let's hash it out first. What are you offering?"

"To protect you for the duration of reading whatever book you'll be willing to give me," I said. If she gave me a short book, then she'd only have a small amount of time. But she could probably do the opposite, go the other way? "But whatever book you're going to give me, you give me the outline of what it offers and I get the chance to veto it."

Molly frowned. "Do you have magic that allows you to read really fast?" she asked.

"Not magic, I don't think," I said. "But, in an effort of full disclosure, I do have a  _power_. It'll mean I can read while doing other things, which might mean I'll read faster than a person in similar conditions."

Molly nodded. "I don't know," she said. "This seems too good to be true."

I only shrugged at that. "I could give you some time to think about it. But I'd have to ask to take a shower while you think about it."

"You have my permission to," she said.

"Thank you," I said.

***

I tested the water and it was tepid. I gave it a few more seconds, sitting on the lip of the tub, head down and my eyes closed. I paid attention to the world because I had to be on my guard: I still didn't know enough, and I was likely to be caught in the crossfire if Molly was attacked.

Guzzler was moving outside, bending in odd ways and licking off some of my bugs. She managed to get over a dozen, but there were more hiding in her that she couldn't reach. I saw her stand, making herself bleed before she moved, gliding up close to the door, then down, moving towards the small space under it.

I quickly called the bugs that were on every surfaced, dressing myself in them to hide that I wasn't clothed. Guzzler slipped through and landed on her feet, looking up with a massive grin that quickly slipped into disappointment.

"You said I should stick close," she said.

I hummed. "Outside is still close," I said. "Wait outside."

Guzzler grinned, shaking her head. "You ask me all the questions and I'll go outside." My bugs moved and she stepped back, a sliver of fear. "You can't kill me. You promised you'd let me leave."

"If you answered my questions," I said. "You can't answer my questions if you're dead, therefore you can't leave. Go wait outside."

She grumbled under her breath and then left by the same means she'd gotten in. Using the smell of something putrid to drift in the spaced between the door. She plopped on the ground when she was outside, scratching her stomach and in the process spreading the smell, directed particularly into the bathroom.

I went to the window and tried to open it and failed. It was too much to hope that it had been replaced at some point and it was somehow newer.

I tested the water again. It was hot enough. I stood under it, watching the constant stream of darkness as dirt fell off me in waves.

My head rested against the wall, my eyes closed and for the first time everything was coming to the fore. I was truly and  _utterly_  alone. I'd died and in the process left my Dad, my friends, my city and my  _universe_. I was sure that there was a way to get it back, but I didn't have the first idea on the  _how_.

My go-to was to learn all I could about magic. But, what if it didn't work? What if this world consumed me or I ended up back in the Abyss and couldn't find my way out?

I took a breath, slowly letting it out.

Death before had meant landing in the Abyss, having a second chance at life, whatever that meant. But what would happen if I died again? Because I'd already given myself enemies in the form of Guzzler and the three Goblins I'd given to the woman Bogeyman. If they survived, they'd likely be after me, and the people after Molly might go through me to get to her.

I knew the obvious answer there, that I could just leave her and go to greener pastures. But a part of me was scared. What if the other people were better? What if they bound me and I couldn't get out? If I was a slave to them without the wiggle room that Molly had given me?

It was too much of a risk, especially when I didn't know the powers at work, their dispositions nor their abilities. Even if it might work against me, Molly was the safest option until I figured things out.

I'd have to get her to trust me, something that would be very hard seeing how she was so scared. It would mean opening me up to doing something stupid. I really couldn't have that if I was going to survive this long enough to think of a way to get back home.

The water was still dark when I opened my eyes. Maybe this was the Abyss' claim on me, to forever be covered in dirt? I had to wonder what would happen if I just left the costume I'd created, its other claim. Would I gain a sense of freedom or would I be weaker?

I could certainly see the latter as more likely, because me in the costume was something worthy to be feared. A dirtied black mask that was featureless, a hood that was the head of a wolf, patchwork of silk and different pelts, coming together in something ugly. Maybe it was the reason I'd had an easier time intimidating the others.

If I let go of that everything would be harder.

I started running my hands through my hair, clumps of dirt falling off. Ten minutes I spent doing this and there was still a lot of dirt, a lot of dead bugs. I got out and started drying off, taking my time even though I knew I'd be returning to the filthy costume. But washing it would likely be harder than my body.

I gave myself a little time, gathering myself before I put the thing on, let the bugs that had been crawling on walls go to their various parts.  It took a minute before it was done and I felt the weight of the bugs on me. I took a glance at myself in the mirror, seeing how my larger I looked, how much  _darker_.

Even at her worst, Skitter hadn't looked like this. But it was something I had to do now, because the rules were different here. Where there'd been the Unwritten Rules in Brockton Bay, I doubted such conventions existed here. If I lost, I'd probably die or be bound.

I couldn't afford to be weaker.

_Don't panic. You got through the Slaughterhouse Nine. Got through Coil. You can get through this._

_But,_  a small part thought,  _there you'd had the Undersiders. Bitch. Tattletale. Grue. Even Regent and Imp._

I made sure to get my bugs to the task of cleaning up while I left, heading to the first floor where Molly was in the process of cleaning up the room that she'd summoned me in. She'd done away with the rotten meats, wiped away the lines and had started sweeping up.

She stopped when she saw me and I could feel that low level fear. As though she'd forgotten I was here and she didn't like the reminder. I didn't like being feared, more especially since I could feel it now. But what was I without that fear filling me up?

I sent bugs into Guzzler's ears, blocking them up.

"Have you given it some thought?" I asked.

Molly nodded. "A deal. Protection while you're reading something that'll give you more to work off of when you're figuring this world out. But part and parcel of protecting me is protecting the house."

"Harder, but I could accept that," I said. "But I'd need supplies. A gun, a good knife and other things that might work against whatever might come after you."

Molly shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't have much," she said. "You can search the basement, use anything in there, but it wouldn't be yours. You'd have to...return it after you're done, but while returning it, you'll be bound by hospitality."

I checked the words over, trying to find some trick, but they seemed genuine. "I still get to veto the book." She nodded. "Then let's make formal promises--"

"In writing," she said. "Both of us have to sign the contract after we're done. We both get the opportunity to read it over, check for tricks."

"With access to a dictionary," I added.

She smiled a little as she gave me a nod. There was still the fear there, but a smile was a step in the right direction.

***

"This is boring," Guzzler said. I ignored her, focusing on the tome that Molly had given me. It was less a book than a collection of notes, bound together by red ribbons. On it were some of the bindings that members of Molly's family had done through the generations and their thoughts on how magic worked.

Molly had warned me that it was ill advised to think in strict categories, but nonetheless this was a good starting point. A way to figure out the pattern of how Others worked and maybe figure out the rules by which reality worked in this universe.

"Give me something to do at least, if you aren't going to ask your damned questions," she said. "I want to be outside, making myself  _happy_  at least and I can't do that here."

I said nothing, focusing on doing other things. Making a silk circle had kept some of the smaller Goblins in, but it hadn't done much against the bigger ones, or even Guzzler for that matter. So now I laid out silk so that it closed in the property, making sure to devote some bugs to keep the line spliced together.

It wasn't a complete measure of protection, but it would weed out the smaller Goblins which were likely to be more in number than their larger counterparts. That was natural law, right? Small thing bred more than big things? Did it work the same way when magic was concerned?

"Can I go outside, at least?" Guzzler said. "Make the hurt a little less?"

"If you promise to protect the house, then yes," I said.

Guzzler groaned, but then nodded. "I promise," she said. She started at a run, jumped further than she should have with how small she was, and almost flew out of the open window.

She started prowling the property. I paid a peripheral attention to her as I continued reading:

_To bind an Other, I've found that elements opposite to the Other's nature are always the safest way to go._

_Goblins, perhaps the easier Others to work with in their lesser forms, are savage creatures. They are animal, rabid and violent, empowered by the the filth and crudeness they relish in. Their counterpoint is metal, the author thinks this stems from the Bronze Age, when humanity was entering more civilised times (where do the elements fit in? What's their role? Symbolism?)(Expand, noting the change between ages. Why stone doesn't work, etc.)_

_But for the weakest of Others, like can bind like._

It went on, listing examples of Others that had been bound with similar elements: A Revenant--which was near to a Bogeyman from the text--that had been bound using the blood of the three people that had betrayed her in life, forming a circle that had bound her.

I stopped on that, trying to figure it out. How was that a  _like_  element? Matter of fact what were the elements of a Revenant? Was it a symbolic thing?

I scanned ahead, seeing if there would be anything more added about the nature of some others but it wasn't a lot, there was reference to thought process used to bind some Revenants, but all of it assumed that the reader knew certain bits of information.

It was  _really_  annoying.

But I could build a framework with enough pieces of the puzzle.

Molly had disappeared into a room in the house. I'd seen her going in the room, even had bugs on her, but the moment she'd stepped into the room, she'd disappeared from my power. Magic at work. Did Molly's enemies have the same abilities?

Guzzler was outside. She'd found a bird at some point and was now chewing it down. There were more birds, I noticed, looking in, staying eerily still as they watched the other bird being eaten.

I started moving bugs close to the birds, but they noticed them, going on the attack and eating my bugs. I started pulling in more bugs, flooding the birds and getting close, making sure I could get fleas into the birds bodies while they attacked my larger bugs.

When it was done, I pulled my reserves of bugs back, keeping track of the bugs. It wasn't too long after that the birds started checking each other over, looking and finding the bugs.

I made a game of it, keeping the bugs on the birds as long as I could. It was a good mental exercise.

Was there a bird master? Or was it bird magic?

I started reaching out, feeling for any other birds and focusing on their movements, seeing if their behaviour was as odd as these birds. Most weren't, but there were a few that seemed to be scouting, moving in regular patterns that sometimes took them out of my range.

I'd have to be on the lookout for that, maybe even find their master. That would be especially hard if their abilities were like mine, but it was something to pay attention to.

Two things happened at once: Guzzler moved a little too fast, scampering off and out of sight; and the spiders on the silk around the property felt movement. I got bugs moving towards the gate and I felt two people moving up the property.

I put my book down and went in the direction Molly had disappeared to. I knocked and she opened the door a minute later, the two people were closer to the house.

"Trouble?" she said.

"People coming," I said. "At least I think they're people. Guzzler moved so she couldn't be seen. I think it might be the Seal of Solomon at work."

"Oh," she said. She took a breath. I'd have thought that since it was people at work she'd feel better. She let out a sigh. "Thank you. Could you not be visible?"

"I could," I said. She seemed to take that at face value, but I stayed upstairs, making sure to have bugs stationed near so I could hear the conversation. When she opened the door there was a man and a boy.

"Callan," said Molly. She was shaking slightly. "This is  _low_."

"What's low? Coming to see my sister? Taking Christoff to see his sister?"

"It's been two weeks, Moll," said the boy, Christoff. "And...you've been here all that time. You haven't even been picking up the phone."

Molly let out a long sigh. She moved forward, wrapping the boy in a hug. "It's...complicated," she said. "Stuff that I can't explain."

"This house--" Callan started only to be interrupted.

"Let's not start on that," she said. "If you say anything about the house then I'll send you both away."

Christoff looked in his brother's direction, his expression pleading. Callan raised his hands in surrender.

"Come in," she said. "Do you guys want anything to eat?"

"What do you have?" Christoff asked, following after Molly as she went to the kitchen.

"Not much. I really haven't had time to go buy groceries," she said. Callan hadn't followed, instead he was looking around the house. His gaze neared too close to my bugs and I scattered them, moving them out of the way. I wasn't fast enough and he noticed some.

"You might have an infestation," he said, going into the kitchen. Molly and Christoff had been talking about school, with the boy discussing his treatment by the other kids.

"That's liable to be house discussion," said Molly. Callan raised his hands in surrender again. Molly went back to listening to Christoff, moving through the kitchen in preparation of a meal.

I couldn't help but be envious at how at ease she was.

I sat down, focusing on their inane conversation while I distracted with watching the birds and Guzzler.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summons**

**1.04**

_"Christoff,_ _”_ said Callan. The boy was walking down in a huff, hands in his pockets and not looking back. Callan let out a sigh, walking faster and keeping close, but not closing the distance between himself and his brother.

Callan had mentioned the house and, a promise made, Molly had sent them away. She slowly climbed up the stairs, giving me a look when she saw that I was sitting on the floor,  _had_  been sitting on the floor for the last short while.

“You were listening?”

I nodded.

“Because you’re going to use it against me?”

I shrugged.

She let out a shaky breath. Then another, slowly breathing slower and holding herself  _up._  I could see anger in her eyes, the fear now gone. But I had bugs on her I could feel that she was shaking a little.

“If you do—”

“Don’t make a promise,” I said. She jumped, looking up towards the roof. I could feel her fear. I’d been talking using my bugs. “I can see the trend. I know what you’re most likely to say and you can consider me warned.”

She swallowed and then walked upstairs, going back to her sanctuary. The bugs that were on her person, all of them harmless, disappeared from my power as she stepped in and closed the door.

I returned downstairs, taking the book and continuing my reading. More of the same, thought processes that were explained elsewhere, with only slivers of information the more I read.

_At their simplest: A binding is an empowered circle. For the newly trained, this often means a circle in blood, but a few other elements can be used. Salt, a metal tube, light, a hollow hula hoop filled with water (Mom says no. Might work, but ridiculousness factor is unbecoming (I_ _’m leaving this here because my brilliance is unappreciated))._

And that marked the point where the author had lost interest or maybe had a guiding hand. The same handwriting, but the youth had been lost as there was a regimented plan on binding a ghost.

_Susan Andrews. Connection formed and strengthened with blood. Bound and kept in place with salt. Convinced to empower an object—knife. Binding into the object completed with sigil._

A little notepad with the sketch of the knife, the sigil on the hilt of the knife. Could I use the symbol if I wanted to? I had personal power in the form of the fear I’d been slowly accumulating, but did it work like that?

Guzzler was on the back of the property, sitting in front of a rock, her hands moving in a continuous motion that made me think she was sharpening something. I stood and walked to a window that would give me a view of her. The moment I was at the window, she turned in my direction,  _feeling_  my gaze.

She stood, turning to look at me, staring me down.

There was less fear coming from her than there had been at the start. But then, she was getting to know me. She knew how little I knew about this world and that I was bound to make a mistake soon.

I took a breath and slowly let it out, imagining the sort of depravities that Guzzler could do to me if I gave her to opportunity.

More than anything I needed supplies.

I started searching through the house. I looked through the cupboards for a good knife and I couldn’t find one. There were three knives in various sizes for preparing food. I could use them in a pinch, sure, but they wouldn’t be able to take a lot of abuse, which was pretty much a given until things settled.

I went over to the basement and started searching through it. I found loops of chain, some in new condition and other in old and with rust on them. I took them both: Metal infused with the elements worked on goblins, and crude materials worked against faeries.

I couldn’t be sure that a chain that was rusted over was  _crude_ , but there’d been more than one sign that symbolism mattered, that elements mattered. The Thorburns hadn’t bound many Faerie, choosing instead to relish in things like Bogeymen, Revenants, Boggarts and Wraiths. But there’d been two successful bindings: One through force, beating down the opponent, and the other by stretching the fight out so long that the Faerie had agreed to be bound just so it could escape and do something else.

But there’d been words on the subject:

_Spoke to a Duchamp for information on Faeries. Her first words were don_ _’t. Fairies are often more trouble than they’re worth and even when it seems you’re winning, it’s likely that you aren’t. Note to those further down the line who read this. To send a message that the Thorburns are not to be a part of Faerie plots, I’ll be releasing—_

Molly had pulled free the next page. Leaving me with questions and theories. She didn’t trust me, that was obvious, and her pulling out the page showed me that she’d done something I hadn’t really considered. She could be selective with the knowledge she could give, going so far as being able to rip out knowledge with specific information she didn’t want me to have, and she could work things to guide me in a direction.

Maybe it was paranoia on my end, but it hadn’t escaped my notice that the batch of information she’d given me was on  _Others_  and not the Practitioners that would no doubt send them. Because if she gave me information on Practitioners, there was a greater chance that I’d be more effective when I worked against her.

Molly didn’t seem dangerous. More than anything she just seemed desperate, which meant she was off pattern. She wasn’t dealing with things the way she normally would. But with the protection I was offering, a few hours of undisturbed rest, and she might be more of a threat than she was now. She would have time to think about what I was, think about ways to subvert me and she might eventually win while I was still getting my footing.

Outside, I gathered bugs around Guzzler.

She stopped her work, looking in their direction before looking towards the house.

“A deal,” I said through the bugs. “I give you an hour to roam if you send out an invite. The Other with the knife.”

“That Revenant guy?” said Guzzler.

“Yes,” I said. “Tell him that I want to deal.”

“Okay, deal accepted,” said Guzzler and then she took off. I didn’t have any bugs around her that could stop her. I hadn’t really been expecting an attack.

There were bugs at the perimeter, but she’d shown she could move through lines of silk without trouble. She managed to catch the wind in a jump, drifting towards the forest and climbing up a tree and scampering off. She was fast, but my range was relatively large and I didn’t think she knew that as she slowed down still within it.

Something to keep hidden.

What had I missed? I thought things through, thought about my wording and the deal. She’d have to find the man with the knife and then she’d have time to roam. But what was so special that she’d rushed things through? That she hadn’t tried to con me in the deal?

She’d have an hour to roam, if she sent out an invite. But I hadn’t given out a time frame. Which meant she could ‘look’ for the next three days and still have an hour after the fact to freely roam.

I sighed.

She was still in my range and I knew the path she was taking. I could gather bugs ahead of her, redefine the terms of the deal, but would that even work? A deal had been made and she was already implementing it. If I barred her path, then  _I_  was the one stopping the previous deal. Would there be karmic backlash? What even  _was_  karmic backlash?

My gut said that things would have a way of going wrong for me, that I’d be out of luck when I most needed it or, when an Other attack, I might find I slipped and a knife caught me. There was a large possibility that I might be wrong, but was it worth it to take the chance? Especially when it meant I was showing something that might be my trump card.

Guzzler was now nearing the edge of my range, not moving as fast as she had before, but still fast.

No. It was better to watch how things played out. I couldn’t afford to show a potential advantage for meagre gains.

Guzzler slipped out of my range.

*******

Three hours and Guzzler hadn’t returned yet. A part of me wanted to slip the noose, go out looking for her, but I didn’t have the same sort of leeway as her. I had to protect the house, protect Molly, less an attack happen while I wasn’t here and I be forsworn. I couldn’t have that, especially when the low fear that had been fueling me had stopped, and now I was using power to just  _be_.

The book was still in front of me, and I could make out the words, but try as I might to take them in, trying to fit them in the larger image I had to work with. It didn’t work. I was too preoccupied.

I was relieved as the door to Molly’s secret room opened and I could feel her coming out. She had with her a small book, clutched close.

“Skitter,” I heard her mutter and then I  _felt_  it. As though there was a large set of eyes looking at me from behind. I turned in the direction and though I couldn’t see her, I knew that Molly was on the other end. I knew that she was walking down the stairs and I had a rough image of where she was in relation to me.

The feeling disappeared, but I still knew where she was by a combination of the lingering knowledge, my powers and being able to hear her footsteps. She rounded the corner.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “I’m…teaching myself the basics about connections. You’re a safe target because I lose nothing if I look at you with too much enthusiasm and you look back.”

“I didn’t know that was possible,” I said.

She nodded, frowned before she said, “Working with connections is Enchantress territory. One of the people working against me, they’re good at that sort of things, which is why I want to protect myself against that.”

“Good move,” I said. She smiled a little, not moving to speak, even though I could see there was more. “You need my help with something,” a statement, because I was pretty confident.

She nodded. “I’ve figured out how to shore up my defences in that direction,” she said. “Make sure that we can’t be looked in on, that they might have a harder time seeing the  _work_  I’m doing next. Because summoning something in the house was a mistake in the first place.”

Through summoning me in the house, she’d given me an avenue to getting back in. If I’d been more angry, then I could have used that invitation to kill her.

“Where do I fit in?”

“I need you to escort me to the boundaries of the property,” she said. “I have to do a ritual, give it weight through repetition and routine. I’m thinking four points to start things off, at specific times throughout the day. Twelve at noon and midnight, and six in the morning and evening.”

I glanced at the watch. “Round about three hours before you can start the ritual,” I said and she nodded. “You think they’ll attack while you’re doing this?”

“I’m not so worried about that while the sun’s up,” she said. “They have to hide, not do anything any innocents might be able to see or they’ll face a cost. But evening, it’s likely I might get attack, at midnight, it’s safe to say its more than likely there’ll be an attack.”

“I can do that,” I said. I could see her  _waiting_  for that cost. I didn’t disappoint. “But you’d have to do something for me. Is there a way to permanently infused objects with elements?” I pointed at the chains wound around me. “I want these to have power in case I have to go against a moderately more powerful Goblin.”

Molly slowly nodded. “There are runes that represent certain elements,” she said. “But that would be weak. It would be better if you convinced a spirit with elemental affinity. That is to say, a collection of spirits that embody one concept. Track down a forest fire and talk to the spirits that’s causing that and bind it; a strong burst of wind and the spirits that make that up; or maybe a lake?”

“If I asked you to do this, then…”

“The lake is the safest option,” she said. “When I think about it, the spirit of a lake is likely to be asleep for long periods, only moving if its disturbed.”

“What would that mean, disturbing it?”

She shook her head. “I have no idea,” she said. “The spirit could want to leave and then the universe would conspire so that the lake is no longer there. An earthquake that causes things to shift? Causing openings that move away the water? Or it could be abstract. The spirit pulling in other water spirits: Wells dry up and we find that the infrastructure that keeps water running fails.”

“Nothing concrete?”

“Not that I know of, but…with how water is when you think about symbolism, it would be more dangerous than trying to get the attention of a spirit of fire. At least from a larger perspective. Water would affect everyone, while fire would just burn itself out without fuel. Likely having taken out the stupid practitioner who tried to tame it.”

“I take it you don’t want to try summoning a fire spirit,” I said.

“I wouldn’t like to, no,” she said.

“Can’t you protect yourself? Make defences in that avenue?”

“I  _could_ ,” she said. “But it would take some work. Water in a circle. That’s a counter to fire, I’m thinking? But that could just offend the fire spirit in the first place, making it harder to deal with. I’d have to do some reading.”

“So long as you actually make progress towards this,” I said. “I’d be willing to protect you while you do your ritual. This will run for as long as our deal of protection lasts, but as soon as that’s void, this deal is void.”

“I can work with that,” she said.

I was leaving myself open by giving her an indefinite amount of time to tend to this, but pushing her wouldn’t be the right move. I needed all the security I could get, which meant making Molly comfortable worked to my advantage.

This would be security gained through trust, but it would be slowly gained which meant everything I worked on had to be in secret, making sure it didn’t get back to her.

“Maybe we can practice that thing you were doing a little more,” I said. This would be a double-edged sword, offering her more power, but it might rush things along.

And I wanted to be cognisant of the threat, to be able to feel the subtlety of someone more experienced so that I could know when I was being watched.

“Protecting you in the long term,” I finished.

“Yeah, that would be good,” said Molly, but there was nothing but suspicion in her tone.

*******

“Spirits of wind and air, I call you,” said Molly. She had a large jar of sugar-water in her left hand. She dipped her right and sprinkled some of the water at the corner of the property.

“Spirits of divination and future sight,” she continued, moving a little and sprinkling more sugar-water as she moved. “Spirits movement, of vitality, of mind and soul. I call you forward and seek your protection. I call upon your nature to free my soul of malignant burden. I call upon your nature to protect my mind against malignant workings. I call upon your nature to enrich me with your energies. I call upon your nature of movement and redirection, of unpredictability and ask that I be granted the same. For this I give my offering.”

She continued, moving slowly with how large the property was, with how much space she wanted to be free of enchantress workings. I did my duty, protecting her: I checked how people were moving, attacked any birds that felt like they might be from a bird magician; made sure that anything moving was checked over by my bugs.

“…strange, right?” a girl said at one point.

“What do you expect from a Thorburn,” her friend said.

“Isn’t she a Walker?”

“Same difference,” the friend said. “They’re all the same. Selfish, strange. Even heard that they sleep with one another.”

“ _Gross_ ,” the girl said. “The guy in cosplay looks awesome, though.”

“You’re such a nerd,” the friend said. “Let’s leave. I’m getting a little cold.”

They left. Molly had been right, people found excuses to overlook anything out of the ordinary, though in all honesty it was the next logical leap that I was a cosplayer in a world without capes.

Beyond that there were no interruptions and still, Guzzler wasn’t back. A part of me was worried that I’d given too much and I’d lost her in the process.

“Where’s the Goblin?” Molly asked. She seemed more at ease, now. Better than she’d been before.

“Errand,” I said and just as quickly the suspicion was back and she was on guard.

“Right,” she said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summons**

**1.05**

Molly opened the door and for the first time I really looked into the room beyond: Row upon row of books. She quickly stepped in my way, closing the door to the library behind her. She looked at me expectantly.

"What are the chances that the house might get attacked if we left?" I asked.

She frowned. "It's...I don't really know. The attacks have been more on my sanity than attacking the house. Why?"

"A few things," I said. "I want to steal money so that I can buy better gear. Collect bugs, I'm thinking we'll have a bigger fight at midnight and the bugs that I have on hand aren't the best. I also want a lay of the land, get a feel for this place."

Molly took in a long breath before she slowly let it out. "Is that why you sent out the Goblin?" she asked. "Because you needed these things?"

Slowly I shook my head. "I sent out the Goblin because I needed information," I  said. Trust had been lost and a measure of honesty would help, even if it left me worse off in the short term. "Do you remember the guy with the knife?" Molly nodded. "I sent Guzzler to invite him over. I wanted to know more about being a Bogeyman, maybe find out more about Practitioners."

"Oh," said Molly and she sighed. She swallowed "You have to understand--"

"That the more I learnt about Practitioners, the more dangerous I am to you," I finished. "I get it. I find myself thinking the same thing about you."

She sighed again.

"We're both of us in one form of danger," I said. "You protect me in a roundabout way by giving me shelter. I protect you through beating the monsters that are sent your way. Or trying my best to, at least. But this doesn't work so well if there isn't a measure of trust between us, if we use subtle means to get one over on the other."

"I know," said Molly. "But it's not that easy. We don't magically trust each other because we know that we  _should_."

"But we can work on it, can't we?" I said. "Try to be honest and upfront, try to make sure that we follow the spirit of our deals, even if the letter says otherwise."

I didn't want to mention that I  _had_ been doing that. That I'd been working to protect the house by armouring myself, having my magical bugs spooling out silk and keeping it in on reserve in case it was needed. I wasn't sure I would win a fight against something that came up against me, but I was in the best position that I could be with the restrictions.

It was annoying that she was stonewalling me against certain routes. But I pushed down the feeling.

"I guess so," she said. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "There are a few flaws with your plan. One, stealing means getting bad karma. Generally, things that belong to people want to remain with those people except for specific circumstances. Two, it's the afternoon. People will disregard the way you look at a distance, maybe think it's a costume. But up close..."

She frowned.

"You're  _teeming_  with bugs," she said. "Every part of you is shifting as the bugs move through your pelt. Not to mention the blood and gunk that I can see. Close enough, and people might notice. If people notice and make the leap, if they get introduced to this world, then you're accountable for their actions in part."

"And what does that mean?"

"That if they get bad karma, then you get it too," she said. "I'm sure there are other things, but I haven't gotten to that part of my reading, yet."

"Could I ask about karma, the simple and concise version? Does it mean being good and having good karma?"

Molly snorted, a wildness in her eyes. "No. Not in the least," she said. "It means being  _just_. Old Testaments just. Eye for an eye sort of thing."

"So the people that are after you," I said. "They're incurring bad karma by attacking you?"

She shook her head, but didn't move to give me anymore. I ground my teeth together, pushing the slight bit of anger back. I took a moment to focus on the grander sense offered by my bugs, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Okay, can't go stealing," I said. "Do you have any cash on hand, then? I want a good knife and a gun. I could give you lessons on how to use it. When our deal ends and I stop protecting the house, you pretty much keep the things you've bought for me."

Molly gave me a look and I could see that it would be a  _no_. There was a sudden influx of fear, I tried to figure out why and I saw that Molly was looking towards the ceiling. I turned and I could see my bugs carpeting it, shifting and getting into formations. A large mound of them was just over Molly, waiting to drop on her.

I'd been unconsciously calling bugs in through my irritation. I hadn't been planning to attack, but it would only be so long before her inaction sent me over the edge.

I let out a long breath and through it, my bugs scattered, disappearing throughout the house.

"It's not..." She cleared her throat as the words stuck in her throat. "It's not that I don't want to go out there," she said. "I've been in this house for two weeks without really going out. My groceries are starting to run out and it'll only be safe to go out when there's a Council meeting."

"But I'm here. I'll  _protect_  you."

"With what? Bugs?" she said. "They're scary, sure, and what you did was cool. But that..." She stopped, sighing. "Okay. Those guys that were here weren't  _sent_  after me. Not directly. It's more likely that they were told that the regular rules don't apply to me. I don't have allies which means no one's going to stand up for me. I have stuff I can use, magic stuff, but the moment I do, it means everyone pays attention to me and they have the right to come after me without repercussions from the others."

She was breathing harsher, seeming more on edge the more she spoke.

"What happens when they see me out and about?" she said. "They start believing that I know enough about this world that I can protect myself. They start to think that if I'm learning to summon things,  _scary_  things, then scarier things aren't going to be too far off. They're likely to preemptively attack."

Too much I didn't know, which meant I couldn't structure the conversation right. She was telling me more, but she was still speaking in abstracts and I couldn't pin anything down. What was scary magic? Why did people naturally leap to her using it?

"I want to understand something," I said. "Practitioners. Are they bound towards a special branch of magic? For example, bird magic. If you do that, are you bound to only use that?"

She frowned. "No."

I shook my head. "Then I don't understand what makes people think that you'd use scary magic when they could too if they wanted to," I said.

"That's because they don't have the resources to bring in the scary stuff, while I do," she said, more irritation in her tone, emotions closer to the surface.

"When you say scary, what does that mean?" I said. "You don't have to tell me the specifics, but something that could give me an impression, an idea of what's going on."

Molly swallowed, looking with utter terror. But this time it wasn't really directed at me, at least not enough that I was able to feed off of it. No, this was something else, the sort of terror I'd seen when she'd been on edge.

We hadn't spent a day together but I was already a security blanket. Through me, there wasn't a need to worry about the things that went bump in the night. But she was scared that if she told me this...

"I need to know," I told her. Because imagining it would be so much worse. It would make me question whether it was safe to be around her.

She hugged herself. "The type of magic is often compared to nuclear weapons," she said. "Large devastating effects against the opponent, but even worse is the radiation. In the regular sense it's sickness and death spread through generations, in the magical sense it's  _magical_  devastation that just lingers in the world."

Nuclear weapons hadn't been really a thing on Earth Bet. Scion at some point, had started destroying them and finally the governments of the world had stopped trying to make them. But radiation was something I knew well. Behemoth often left radiations in his wake, with capes dying even if they hadn't been close to the fight with him, and areas no longer fit for people to live in.

Something like that was scary because I knew it, I could understand it. In terms of magic, that effect didn't have the same resonance. Magic seemed so abstract, with nothing tied down, that I just couldn't imagine what that sort of radiation would mean.

"So, metaphorically, you could make and send out nuclear weapons if you wanted?" I asked.

She nodded meekly.

"And they still attack you, directly or indirectly?  _Idiots_. What happens, do they think, if you lose it? What happens if you see the inevitability of your own death and think that it's a good idea to just  _use_  those nuclear weapons to make sure everyone dies out?"

_Idiots. Idiots. Idiots._

"Fuck me, what win do they expect from this?" I asked. "What exactly do they want to get? Because I honestly don't understand it."

Molly swallowed, looking at me but not answering. But then how could she? What could she say? What  _good_  reason could there be to piss of someone that could leave  _everyone_  worse off if they had a particularly bad day. But then...

"Are these nuclear weapons summoned? Are they alive?"

Molly frowned. "Why?"

"Because if they  _are_ , then things start to make a little sense. You couldn't sleep before, which made you bound to make mistakes. It could be that they wanted to get you to a point where you were desperate and  _did_  make a mistake, that you tried to release the nuclear weapons but at an instrumental moment your attention slips and you're the only person affected."

"I think that's part of it," she said. Which meant there was more she wasn't telling me, more that might close off the image and that might paint her in a negative light. Something that she was  _keeping_ from me when it was better that we shared information.

I focused on my bugs, trying to push back the irritation I felt at Molly and at Guzzler for wandering off. I'd been close to gaining information and now that seemed harder because Molly would be on the lookout for it. But more than anything,  _I_  needed to learn more. Because this was a mess just waiting to happen and I was at the worst position without being able to move.

A cluster of birds. I gathered bugs and I felt as the birds reacted, on alert and waiting to see if I would attack. I gathered enough bugs that I could speak.

"Lead me to your master," I said.

I didn't know who the bird Practitioner was, but I really needed to diversify. I needed to know if it was worth it to stick with Molly and whether or not the people of this goddamn place were the idiots that they seemed to be.

*******

Everything around her, with the exception of herself and the large creature glaring at me had fleas. She had animals close at hand, all of them watching me with the same human intelligence that the bugs had watched the property. There were also things that might have been people, dressed in pelts and wearing white masks.

They were taller than the girl, who looked maybe fifteen or sixteen. They would be her main protection, summonings that had raw strength. It was likely that she would send them out first, with the animals flanking while she used magic to attack me.

It struck me that I still didn't have a good idea of all the elements of how magic worked: Molly had summoned me, but that had required an ornate magical circle; she'd been able to look at me from a distance, but I'd felt that and been able to look back; and she'd been able to convince air and wind spirits to protect her, however that worked.

What avenue would this girl use to attack me?

"Thorburn Summons," said the girl, breaking the silence.

"Bird Girl," I returned.

"Today isn't the worst day, temperature wise," she said. "But I still don't like being here, especially when I have better things to do with my day. What do you want?"

"To talk. Get perspective," I said.

"Oh?"

"I find myself needing to make a decision," I said. "Whether or not to continue my relationship with my summoner or branch out into the world."

"You mean kill her?"

"You could say that," I returned.

"But would she be correct?" the animal beside the girl said. I turned in its direction, taking it in. The animal was a wolf, but it was the size of a horse; with the bugs I'd put on it, I could feel feathers instead of fur, bird claws instead of wolf paws.

"That's another question," I said. The thing  _grinned_. The girl frowned. I'd already messed this up, but I couldn't tell the level of damage. "I'm bound to protect her. Me talking about killing her would go against the spirit of my deal."

"And you'd lose ground," said the wolf, "be claimed by the Forest."

"A Bogeyman?" said the girl to the wolf. "Do you know how old?"

"Only a guess. It would have to be old if it had this level of power," the wolf. "It controls nature,  _hides_ from sight even though it stands before us. Look closer,  _girl_  and you'll see its power."

The girl frowned and then I felt it, as though I was being looked at but it was smaller and more numerous, a set of eyes stretching out over bits of me. I focused on my bugs and through them I looked back, getting imprints of where she was even if I didn't need them.

"Oh," the girl said. "That's going to be hard to work against."

The wolf hummed. "Especially for what I am," he said. "A deal, Thorburn Summons."

"Skitter," I put in. "If you're going to use a name. I'd rather it be Skitter than Thorburn Summons."

Names were important. Molly had tried to use the Thorburn name to compel me to speak. If the title Thorburn Summons  _stuck_  then I'd be connected to Molly and her family, something I wasn't sure I wanted with the entire nuclear weapons thing following them around.

"This is my  _master_ , referred to as the Briar Girl," said the wolf. "And I am her familiar, the spirit of this forest and the surrounding marshes."

Briar Girl was frowning, paying attention to her familiar as it spoke. That was something else I didn't know. I knew from movies and books that familiars were animal companions of witches, that they were smart and could take to doing certain things if needed by the witch. But what did it mean here?

The familiar was also the spirit of the forest. Which meant what?

I was sitting on the porch, looking down the hill and towards the town whose name I didn't know in all honesty. There was movement, but it was light, telling me that this place was small. Molly was in the kitchen, making us something to eat.

I took a breath, closing my eyes as I focused on thinking thing through: Forest spirit? What did that mean and what were the symbolic elements?

Trees and light and nature and animals. But how did that work together? A bit of control of the wildlife, enough that the animals were willing to protect her if it was needed. But not a strong enough control that the Forest Spirit could take away my control.

There was something else though, an innate enough connection with everything that they'd been able to see the other bugs through the mass of bugs in front of them. A similar trick to what Guzzler had done when I'd been looking in her direction, being able to feel it without looking at me and turning in my direction. The same thing Molly had done, but she'd started it off by calling my name.

"You've gone silent, Skitter," said the Forest Spirit. "I have to wonder if this isn't an information gathering exercise so you can clear your  _master's_  enemies."

"She's not my master," I said. Briar Girl was frowning all the more, almost glaring at her family. He'd lied, relatively small, but maybe I could leverage it. But how?

The wolf howled. "Yes, I see," the Forest Spirit said. "Minor, all things considered. But the spirits require balance do they not? Even with the taint of being associated with a Thorburn custodian and heir, I open the floor for a deal between you and us. With you as the initiator."

"I accept this," I said, because what else was there? I still couldn't gauge how much I could ask for from the lie. "But not now, in the future?"

"I can accept this," the Forest Spirit said.

"But  _are_  you accepting it?" I asked. He grinned.

"I am," the Spirit said, "and by extension  _we_  are."

I let out a breath. "We were having a conversation before," I said.

"We were," said the Spirit. "You wanted information?"

I had the bug clone nod. "My  _charge_ ," I said. "She's being attacked by Others. I want to know why, which means knowing about the people in this town."

The Spirit tsked, even though its mouth really shouldn't have been able to. "That would be putting us in too much danger," it said. "For anyone else, it might look like we've chosen sides and stand beside the Thorburns. Not something either of us want."

"Because people would be after you just like they're after Molly?"

"Amongst other reasons," said the Spirit.

"Skitter," said Molly. I turned, looking at her through the doorway. "Food's ready."

"Could you point me in the right direction, then?" I asked. "You gain something if I find that working with the Thorburns doesn't help me. It means I might turn against them, side with the rest of you."

"I don't think us pointing you in a direction is all that needed," said the Spirit. "If you're working with the Thorburns then you're already on borrowed time. They relish in causing imbalance in the universe and that comes at a price. The things they trade in have a way of spreading out that imbalance and its only a matter of time before the universe sees fit to right that imbalance."

More abstractions. More vagueness. More words that weren't helping me pin down the details to how things worked.

"Are you going to leave?" I heard Molly ask. I looked up, she was looking towards a fist that was clenched.

"What does that mean for me?" I asked through my bugs.

"Most likely a gruesome end," he said. "Likely worse than where you come from."

I let out a sigh. "I honestly don't know," I said to Molly.

I started pulling back my bugs, breaking apart the clone, but I still kept some on-hand so I could listen in on the pair.

"You tricked her," the Briar Girl said.

"Yes," said the Spirit. It looked around until it spotted one of my bugs. I felt as it started looking at all the other bugs. It said a word and the birds reacted, swooping down and onto it, starting to eat the bugs on its form. I felt more birds coming in, most likely to free them of the bugs.

"Then," said Molly, she disturbed me from trying to get a few bugs on the Briar Girl and the Forest Spirit. "Maybe I could bribe you? I'm willing to giving you an elementally infused chain if you stay. At least until I can figure things out. At least another week."

It was progress, but, "I also need information on Practitioners," I said. "Particularly the people that are after you and the tricks that they have."

Reluctantly, she nodded.

*******

"You didn't know?" Molly said. She had a book on communing with the spirits in front of her as well as a note book. The TV was on, though both of us weren't watching. I had my own book in front of me, still going over the binding of Others.

"Really wasn't paying attention to your accent," I said.

"What about the weather?" she said. "Come on." She smiled a little. We'd just finished the second part of the ritual without trouble. There was still daylight outside and it hadn't been enough for the attacks to start.

"I'm a universe over," I said and I shrugged. "Not to mention that I could have just been up north. Minnesota or something."

"I suppose," she said. "Well, you're in Canada. Toronto's a short drive away. Two of my cousins live there. The only cousins I actually have something of a relationship with. Paige and R--"

"People coming," I said. Two kids had been running within my range. I'd thought before they were running home since it was so late, but they'd turned towards the property. There was something chasing them, fat and stinking, likely a Goblin. "Feels like two kids are being chased by a Goblin."

They'd reached the gate and they opened it, moving through without paying attention to the lines of silk. I was already gathering bugs, sending them out into the porch, on the little ceiling and clustering them together. Bugs rushed on my person, flies gathering the spools of  silk that had been made by my magical bugs.

The kids started running up the hill. The Goblin leapt over the fence, landing and moving faster. One of the kids glanced back, screaming and then pushed faster. They were near the door, with both Molly and I just on the other side.

"Please! Please!" a kid scream. "It's coming after us."

"Mommy! Mommy!" another screamed, both of them fervently pounding against the door.

"We have to help them," said Molly, desperation in her eyes.

I nodded, sending out bugs with lines of silk to intercept the Goblin. I opened the door, fully prepared to step outside before I stopped, hit by the children's expression: Both of them were short, nine if not ten, they were pale, dark haired and blank eyed.

_Others_.

I didn't even think. The bugs on the roof of the porch  _fell_ , swarming over them. I felt the sudden surge of fear as the bugs started to bite them, felt as the Goblin stopped short. The kids scrambled back and away from the door, but I pulled caught one of them with a thread of silk by the legs, sending them tumbling back.

More bugs, covering and biting, the screams getting fiercer and louder, the fear making me stronger. I stepped out of the house and everything went wrong: My mouth went dry and my heart felt like it'd stopped. My legs gave out from under me and I fell forward, my attention slipping enough that I didn't give my bugs directions.

It was instinctive, but every bug in my range was suddenly on the attack.

Molly screamed, scrambling back and away, but she wasn't fast enough. There were just too many bugs and she was fighting a losing battle. The Goblin seemed to be weathering it pretty well, moving to the side and getting closer, waiting for an opportunity.

" _Eyes_!" I screamed, my voice hollow, almost a whisper. I pushed with my power and I could feel my bugs, changing course, with no conscious direction all of them moving for eyes.

The kids were writhing on the ground, still screaming from the pain. The Goblin had stopped coming closer, instead moving back where there were less bugs.

Heat from upstairs and with it, some of my bugs died. Molly and there was fire in front of her.

"Awa.." I couldn't finish the words. My voice dying. My heart wasn't beating and I was burning the fear to keep myself alive. I wanted to focus on the feeling but I couldn't, Molly was priority.

"Away!" I said and the bugs around the fire started pulling back and away, moving erratically against the walls. "St--stop and I won't kill you!" I was shouting, but the words were hollow.

_Grue, splayed open and his flesh connected to the wall. Bonesaw standing over me and knowing that I would die, that there was no way out._

This was terror distilled and it was  _killing_  me.

I felt a form, but before I could lash out, I was pulled. I didn't fight. I  _couldn't_  fight as I was pulled into the house.

My heart started beating and I fell back,  _breathing_  again. I was panting, my eyes closed and my body starting to remember how it worked, my power amongst the last pieces to fall in line. I swallowed, still breathing hard.

"Fuck," I said. "I'm sorry."

Welts were already starting to appear.

"It's not fine," she said. "But I understand. Unfamiliar threat, it took you by surprise."

I nodded. I felt for my reserves and they were almost empty. Looking at the world it was darker, shadows deeper and there was a stench to the air:  _The Abyss_  and it was close.

I picked myself up. It didn't hurt, but the terror was still there, directed at the kids that were still on the ground, my bugs still attacking them.

"What are they?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," she said. "Likely Bogeyman, but not from the same place as you. I'm sorry but I don't know more than than."

I nodded, pulling back a little and suddenly dithering. I'd hurt the kids, the bugs in their eye holes had surely broken important things, they were still writhing even with the biting having stopped. That was enough, right? Because even if they were still monsters...

Where they monsters or had they been sent? Because I was a 'monster' and it could be that they were like me, slave to a master like Molly. I pushed that down.

"Who sent you?" I said through my bugs. There was no answer, only whimpering. "Answer or I'll attack again."

The whimpering stopped as though it hadn't been there in the first place. I felt them starting to rise but I moved bugs, lines of silk quickly binding them. They weren't supernaturally strong, which helped keep them bound.

"Only having fun," said the one with short hair. Both of them were young enough that it was hard figuring out their gender.

"No one sent us," the other said, longer hair that covered their face.

"Promise not to attack anyone ever again and I'll let you go," I said.

The one with the long hair shook their head. "Better to go back home," they said. "I've been missing mummy and daddy."

I swallowed, took a breath and then shrugged. "So be it," I said. And bugs started crawling into their brains. They didn't scream, only laying still as I killed them.

The Goblin had already ran.

I let out a long breath, but I didn't calm down, there was a contingent of three, moving through the forest. All of them Goblins, two of them were toddler sized, while the last was the size of a large adult, morbidly obese and I could already guess its shtick.

Where it walked, my bugs were disappearing, suddenly being struck by what felt like a tongue before they dissolved.

"Large Goblin is on it's way," I said. "With its pace, I think it'll be here when the sun's fallen."

"It starts," Molly said, her voice shaky. "I summoned something and they saw it as a challenge.  _Fuck_."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summons**

**1.06**

Three stove tops were alight, blue flames bright on each. One of the stove tops had my ugly knife from the Abyss, a symbol etched on it. The reminder seemed to bring everything about the Abyss forward. How I could see a tree without leaves in the forest bordering the property, the sound of falling rain and  _sloshing_  against mud.

I swallowed.

The Abyss was closer. When those kids had attacked me, they'd made my body forget how to work and, to stave off the inevitably, I'd unconsciously burned the power I had. Now the Abyss was closer, just waiting for me to do something stupid before it claimed me again.

Molly finished etching a symbol on the chain. I took it, coiling it around the fire and letting it suck up the heat.

"You understand that this won't keep, right," she said, her voice was shaky, with an edge to it. "Better if you end this fast."

"I know," I said. She jumped a little. I was using my bugs to speak, but I didn't try and push off the impulse. The little bit of fear fed me, kept the Abyss at bay. I focused on what I'd been doing in the background, tracking the areas were there were less people and starting to pull in  _all_  the bugs that I could.

I needed  _fear_. I needed Taylor to be away while Skitter came to the fore.

I took a breath and slowly let it out, pushing away the fear and only focusing on the coming fight. Bugs were moving into the house, climbing onto me and bulking me up. I was stronger than I'd been, I realised. Not enough that it was anything special, but the burden of my bugs felt less that it should. It felt  _right_.

"You said it's eating your bugs," she said, etching the symbol with a piece of sharp wire. I was surprised that she wasn't shaking while she worked, especially with all the fear I heard in her voice. "That's going to make the fight harder. It'll make you less effective."

"It'll make the fight harder, yes," I said. "But I made a promise to protect you and I'm going to keep it."

The Goblin had keen eyes. Every time I tried to get bugs in close, it saw them and struck.  _Eating_  them. It wasn't using the same trick that the Forest Spirit had used though, it wasn't magically tracking my bugs, just using enhanced sight.

Three people entered my range and they moved with grace as they dodged me trying to tag them with bugs. I gathered a cluster of bugs so I might see them and one noticed. They  _had_  to be Practitioners or Others.

"I do think we're being watched," said a voice, male and with a melodic edge.

"Only our dear Rose's abode is near," said another, male and deeper. "Unless its the Duchamps?"

"No," said the man with the softer voice. "Not their style. Nothing this ugly. I find myself curious. Perhaps a detour?"

"We're already well past the point where our lateness is fashionable," said a female voice.

"But, my dear, anything you do is fashionable," said the first man, the one with the soft voice.

"Aren't you just a charmer," said the woman, amusement in her voice. "A look in, to see if it's worth our interest."

The three started moving in our direction, still stepping so that they were dodging my bugs with that inhuman grace, noticing even when I tried to catch them from behind. They would bat hand, striking too hard and killing the bugs. I checked that there was no one close and I formed a bug clone. The three stopped.

"I'm in the middle of something," I said. "I need promises from each of you that you won't interfere, that if you want to, you'll only watch."

Keeping them back might be too much trouble when I was facing Goblins. It was better if this was just over quickly.

"A bug spirit?" said the deeper male voice. It came from a tall and buff man, but proportioned in a way that looked good.

"Communing with the spirits is something one works up to doing," said the woman. "The new Rose hasn't had much time to do that."

"Unless she took the more reckless options," said the softer man, shortest of the trio. "I might actually like her if all this is true."

"All the more reason to continue forward," said the large man. He started reaching into his pocket but my bugs surged forward. He stepped to the side while the woman stepped forward, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a thread that whipped through the air, cutting and killing a large swathe of my bugs.

I scattered the bugs and sent scouts to sense how the thread moved. It was sharp, cutting through my bugs, but it was easy to guess how it moved and how to get past it and closer to the trio. The man had finished reaching into his pocket and he pulled free two things: A bottle and a lighter.

I sent bugs at him, but they were suddenly killed by the movement of the thread. I searched to see if I had spiders and I didn't. I devoted some of the flies that were carting spiders in the direction while I pulled my bugs into the sky and far from the man as he  _blew_.

It didn't matter. The fire stretched out larger than it should, taking out all of the bugs that had been doing their best to surround them.

I stopped the bugs that had been flying in the trio's direction. It wasn't worth it wasting bugs when I didn't know who or what they were.

"Three beings are coming our way," I said. "Others or Practitioners, I'm not sure. But they move like...they're thinkers."

"I don't know what that means," said Molly. "Finished."

I took the chain and coiled it over the fire. I searched for the Goblins and they were close. Only a few minutes before it was here. Only a few more minutes before the trio would be here, either just watching or participating. I was already dreading the Goblins, but things I didn't know?

A breath in and slowly out. It was getting darker, which meant I could push caution to the wind. A swarm in the air and flying towards the house. I felt slivers of fear in varying intensities and with them, the smell of the Abyss started to abate.

"What are the rules with innocents?" I asked. "Others can kill them, right? How does that affect their karma?"

Molly stopped. "You're not--"

"I'm not thinking about hurting anyone," I said. "But I want to scare. Those Black-Eyed Kids burned through my power supply and I want to figure things out so I'm at least on a better footing."

Molly swallowed. "Scare, but make it seem like it's not from magic," she said. "There's text of a minor god of trickery and every reaction it got was a piece of worship, even if it was indirect. It scaled up, getting to the point where it was gluttonous and eventually malevolent."

"Okay," I said. Bugs,  _an infestation._

A woman just getting out of the shower, going to the mirror to fix her hair. A spider walked across her mirror and she screamed, finding a towel to hit it. The spider jumped close to her, swinging on a web and then landing on her faster than she could track. It disappeared, but the woman was still scared, not knowing where the spider was.

A trio of teenagers on their way home, chatting. They turned into a dark alley, moving slower as a large figure walked towards them. I could feel their fear, but they all kept moving. They were all guys which meant it was likely none wanted to be the first to run. I had the bugs surge forward, screaming obscenities. They quickly turned and ran.

I had the bugs disappear and continue my way. I continued this throughout the range, minor things that fed me bits of fear.

 I moved to a window and I could see the Goblins.

"They're here," I said.

***

She was tall and fat, her skin lined with thick green plates that looked like scales, except patchy. They were there in places, but in others it was just a thick hide. She was wearing clothes but it was less in the way of protecting her modesty than have a sash that was filled with bulges. Unfortunately, this meant I could see her in all her disgusting glory.

"You don't have to fight," said Molly. She was standing back as I looped my second chain around myself. It had grown hot enough that it was already warming me up. I didn't sweat, which was a small mercy.

"We can just stay in the house, wait it out," she said. "They might get bored and leave."

"What about midnight?" I said, my bugs repeating the words. I could still feel the fear from various sources. It wasn't all it could be, but it was slowly filling me up, making me stronger,  _calmer_.

"It's--"

I stopped her with a raised hand, with the others looking over my weapons. My right hand had the knife, while my left had the jaw.

"Do you know that thing they say about prison?" Molly shrugged. "Find the biggest, meanest person there and take them down thoroughly. That'll reverberate, give people that want to attack you pause. It's what happened earlier today on a smaller scale."

"But," said Molly, "what happens when even bigger and meaner people come along? When they want to test you."

"You take them down, too," I said. "Any magic tricks you've been hiding?"

"I could summon another Bogeyman. A specific one this time, but it's not much of a fighter, and it could send the wrong message," she said.

"Magical radiation?"

"The perception of magical radiation," she said.

"Then I'll just do this myself," I said. "Stay inside. If I have to physically protect you then this is harder."

Molly nodded.

"Open the door please."

She did and I walked outside. The Goblin's head was bigger than it had looked from afar, round with eyes on the smaller end, its mouth taking up the majority of its face. There were two other Goblins, shorter though they looked  _tough_. One was thin, sickly so, with leather green skin; it had long arms and fingers which ended in claws; lizard eyes with a monkey's tail. The other was on the fatter end, slits running all along its body, closed by shoddy sutures.

Both of them were bound by rust crusted chains, held by the fat Goblin.

The sun had set but the sky was darker with all my bugs. I set them low, making sure that they gave me the clearest view since I'd been summoned from the Abyss. The fat Goblin didn't move to attack, neither did I for that matter. This was about karma, the first to attack would be the aggressor and it was possible that things might work against them.

I stepped outside, more bugs layering over me so I could be concealed. The fear I was raking in was enough that I didn't feel as close to the Abyss, but I still didn't feel safe conjuring more bugs by tapping into the power source.

I searched for and found the trio. They'd stopped now, the bugs so clustered together that even if they killed them, I'd still be able to rush them.

"Curiouser and curiouser," said the softer man. "Perhaps now would be time for that deal."

"I could clear this," said the larger man.

**"Try!"**  the bugs intoned, the word loud enough that I could hear it here. Spiders in the group were laying out lines of silk in a wide circle around the trio, the weaker bugs were stationed in front so I could have them search out for the thread and manoeuvre around it, other bugs were underground, ready to surge up and start biting.

"Are we going to stand outside all night?" said the thinner Goblin. "It's fucking cold and I'm hungry."

The fat Goblin only grunted. Both of the smaller Goblins grinned, malice in their eyes.

"Boss bitch wants to eat you," the fatter of the smaller Goblins said. It's grin stretched out further, showing sharp teeth. "Says if you just walk into her mouth she'll only make it as painful as needed so the meat is  _just_ right."

The thinner one cackled.

**"I have no other choice but to take this as a declaration of war,"** I said. The sound coming from every bug in the area.

"Now more than ever I want to watch," said the softer speaking man. "If you're listening, Bug, then I'm willing to make a deal."

The Goblin grunted, long and harsh, ending off in a snort.

"Don't care how you take it," said the fatter Goblin. "This is only going to end one way."

**"Yes,"** I said. Statements had power. I wasn't sure how it would work, but I could take the risk. " **It'll end with all of you bound."**

The fat Goblin smiled and I could see a part of her thick tongue within her mouth, saliva falling off of it and catching some of my bugs. Slowly, taking her time, she started undoing the chains on her Goblins.

I still couldn't attack first, because doing that would mean I was paying a little less attention to the other trio.

"A deal," I said. "Information on all of the major players in this town and you get to watch and only watch. You have until the count of two to individually accept. I'll attack those that don't accept, and those that aid them. One..."

In rapid succession the three accepted.

I eased away the bugs, pulling them towards the fight. The two smaller Goblins were free and the chains went in the sash. Lizard and Squat, started moving so they were on either side of me, but my attention was on the Goblin Mother. She would be the most dangerous.

The moment Lizard was out of sight he quickly darted forward, moving  _fast_. I ducked forward while I sent bugs at him, trying and failing to bite. My bugs just couldn't get through his scaly skin. He missed and I twisted around, bending low and swiping my knife. He pushed himself into the air, drifting in the wind and landing out of my reach.

Squat had also been moving, reaching in a fold of skin and pulling out a Goliath style slingshot. He found a clump of packed dirt and started spinning the thing. I sent his bugs his way,  _biting_ into him because his skin was relatively softer. The Goblin didn't seem to care. Lizard was moving forward, rushing at me. Keeping track of the the Goblin Mother, I ran at an oblique angle that took me towards Squat while moving away from Lizard.

Squat was ignoring the bugs biting him, even those I had in his eyes as they blinded him. I tried to go for his nose, but it was blocked, the same for his ears.

He  _shot_.

I fell, landing in a roll and coming to my feet. With spiders on my knife, already starting to die because of the heat, I  _threw_. Squat dodged to the side but hornets, trailing behind the knife and holding threads of silk, flew towards him, the knife abruptly changing direction and slashing at him.

Even with how weak the slash had been, the cut was deep.

Lizard lunged and I stopped. He missed. He landed and lunged again, so close I couldn't dodge. I swiped the jaw, catching him as he landed on me, pushing me back. Bugs were immediately on him as he tried and failed to scratch my chest. I went for the eyes but he had a protective film over them, and his nose, eyes and mouth all closed seamlessly.

I stabbed, over and over in quick succession and Lizard jumped off me. He was bleeding while I was still relatively unhurt.

Squat had moved further away from the knife and he was already letting go of another shot. A hollow sound left me as it hit, striking me at my side. I stumbled, falling, but clouding myself with bugs.

It didn't work, Lizard was already running towards me. Magical bugs let out magical silk and it was given to flying bugs that flew towards Lizard. He noticed them, stopping and then choosing to go the longer path towards me, dodging all of the silk trying to bind him. All while getting closer.

I had spiders spooling out more silk, flooding the area in an effort to catch him.

I felt my side and it didn't hurt, but my fear reserves were lower for having been hit. I got to my feet, straightening one of the loops of chain, standing my ground at the ready.

Squat had another shot ready, but he was being hounded by my hornets and the knife.

"Molly," I said, paying attention to her for the first time. She was in the kitchen, I noticed, etching a knife from a series that were lying in front of her. There were already two knives that were on top of the stove.

She jumped, then, "Busy."

"Keep working," I said as I had spiders and flies start carrying the knife towards me.

Squat shot and missed as I ran forward, moving towards Lizard. He stopped short, digging claws into the ground. I felt him as he pulled a rock free and I ducked low, getting closer. He moved back, in the process moving closer to the house.

"Fucker!" Squat shouted and for his trouble I flooded his mouth with bugs. He started chewing and I could feel the laughter in him, but this was his mistake. With the bugs that were still alive in his mouth I formed a map and had them moved down his throat and quickly in his windpipe.

He choked.

Lizard had noticed the pair of knifes flying through the air and he got further away from them, finding stones and throwing them in my direction. I dodged each, getting back and closer to Squat. Lizard saw my plan and rushed quickly forward, trying to catch me by surprise.

He failed, instead catching himself in the silk arrayed all around me. He was strong, breaking through the single threads, but they accumulated in strength, getting harder and harder to break as they piled up. He was closer now and I  _swung_ , the chain stretching further than my reach and slamming into him.

He hit the ground hard, landing in a roll and trying to get to his feet, stopping short as he was impeded by silk.

The knives fell and he screamed as they hit him in the palms of both hands. My Abyss knife and jaw joined the fray, slicing into his legs and pinning him to the ground.

**"One has been bound by my power,"** I said.  **"The others will soon follow!"**

I didn't feel stronger, didn't feel better, but this was the right thing to do. Words mattered in this world and even if I felt stupid just shouting, saying things that had no weight, these were the rules and whatever advantage they were going to grant me, I had to get.

Squat had cleared his throat and had his slingshot. But he hadn't attacked me. It took a second to realise why as I glanced in his direction and saw that my bugs had destroyed his eyes. He noticed and started spinning his slingshot. Guzzler had done something similar, being able to see me when I'd looked in her direction.

I stopped looking at him, suddenly changed direction while a clone kept moving forward. He shot at the clone while I ran towards him, only keeping track of him with my bugs. Close enough and I struck, he fell over. He let out a wet fart and I immediately pulled back as my bugs started dying around him.

He was breathing ragged breathes, drool escaping his mouth. He slowly got up, pushing himself to his feet. He stumbled a little, looking from side to side. He reaching into one of the slits on his body and pulling out a handful of something out. He spun, throwing it on the ground.

I tested the air and my bugs weren't dying as quickly. I flooded him with bugs again, pushing them into his mouth and wounds, eating away at his flesh. He squealed but I wasn't paying attention, instead feeling out the things that were on the ground: Caltrops.

But I knew where they were. I stepped lightly and  _beat_  him into the ground with the chain, quickly looping it in a wide circle around him before I closed it. Stepping back.

**"The second is bound,"**  I said. I turned towards the Goblin Mother. She was drooling much like Squat had been, killing the bugs caught under her drool.

I'd wondered why she'd been waiting, but this gave me an idea: She was  _fucking_  tenderising me.

She grunted and then reached into her sash, pulling out three tennis ball sized wooden balls. She threw them, but I had bugs at the ready: They were caught by silk and carted into the sky. The Goblin's tongue shot out, swiping and catching the bugs.

The balls fell and hit the ground, breaking and letting out Goblins the size of squirrels. The things had small bodies but their heads were too big and their teeth even larger. They started laughing before they darted in my direction, moving even faster than Lizard.

Bugs stopped them, lines of silk catching one and hoisting it in the air; the other slammed into the air where a line of silk was stretched out. These things were weak enough that silk could catch them. I sent more silk around them, barring their path and finally stopping them all in circles.

**"Three more I've bound,"**  I said.  **"Now it's your turn."**

A mass of bugs and the Goblin's tongue struck out, whipping back and forth, taking some of my bugs while spittle shot out, taking out others. I manoeuvred my bugs closer, getting on her hide and going for the eyes. Her hide was too thick and I couldn't bite, which meant the eyes, ears and mouth, but they had the same mucus that killed bugs.

The Goblin Mother rushed forward, heavy steps that were faster than they should have been. I ran back, jumping to the side as her tongue lashed out. She whipped her head and the tongue changed direction, it's tip catching me by the leg before heaving me up.

No time to panic.

I unwound a bit of the chain and I tried to catch her tongue. She let go and I started falling, with no way to stop myself. I slammed into the ground, feeling as my reserves were burned with the fall. I quickly got to me feet but everything was wrong: The ground was mushy, each step like I was stepping into mud; it was too dark and the smell was off; looking towards the forest I could see glimmers of  _Other_ things.

The ground shook a little and I was snapped back into the world by a hand slamming into my chest, sending me tumbling back. I sent bugs forward, into her eyes and ears. The bugs on her eyes immediately died while the bugs in her ears were slower to die. I had them bite, but she didn't much care.

She tried to stomp me and I rolled to the side, hitting her foot with a bit of chain.

"Knives," I heard Molly say and bugs were devoted to the task.

She turned and kicked, taking me off the ground before I landed in the muddy ground again.

_No. No. No._

I got up and fell to the side, more of the chain unwound as I dodged out of the way of a hit. The Goblin Mother's tongue lashed out but I used my chain as protection, throwing it at a portion of the tongue. She quickly pulled her tongue back before she could be caught, pulling free another ball from her sash and throwing it at me.

I caught it with silk, hoisting it at the sky. I ran closer, spinning my chain and lashing out. She stumbled back but she wasn't fast enough, I struck her in the stomach twice before she spat, catching me in the face. I coughed as I felt the smell of it catching the back of my throat but I pushed forward. She tried to slap me and I bat the hand back with a chain.

The first knife was out of the house and in the air, hidden in a cloud of bugs.

She moved a little back, hand digging into the ground to throw at me but I was moving to the side. I felt as her head bulged, her tongue about to lash out. I dropped a knife as the tongue struck out, catching me and pushing me back.

I heard a scream and elation ran through me. I dug myself out of the mud and looked up to see that the knife had fallen tip first into the ground, the Goblin doing her best and in pulling her tongue free.

_Chain_.

Some of my bugs were on it. I stood, moving slow because each step was stepping into mud and slowly pulling it out. The Goblin was succeeding in cutting her tongue in twain to pull it free, any other pull and she would lop it off.

I was breathing hard even though I didn't feel tired, but that faded a little as I felt the second knife close in. I dropped it and it struck the Goblin in the head. She screamed in anger but she couldn't attack me, still trying to pull herself free. It had been stupid to strike like that because it only gave me one use with the knife.

I started pulling it free but it was in too deep.

I finally reached the chain, picking it up and starting to move towards the Goblin.

_Fear_  and it was glorious. My steps coming easier with each step closer. She was almost free now, but there was another knife in the air. I lowered it so it was just over her tongue.

"Move and I lop off the tongue," I said. She stopped moving. "Agree to be bound."

She grunted and I could see the fight going out of her.

I let out a relieved breath as I moved to get the chain around her in a circle.

"Wooo!" I heard. I turned in the direction. The shortest man in the trio was clapping, a too long grin stretched out on his face.

I ignored him.

I ignored  _them_ and dealt with the Goblins.

"Squat," I said through the bugs. I was surprised how many I still had, but then I hadn't been fighting fire blasters or  _tinkers_ , instead I'd been fighting things that had been able to weather them. Seeing no reason to take them out all at once.

"Who the fuck's Squat?" Squat said.

"It's what I'm calling you," I said. "You'll translate."

"Fuck reason do I have to do that?"

"I'll start squeezing the circle if you don't," I said. "I'm curious what will happen if I do that. There are invisible walls, right?"

"I get it. I get it. I'll do it," he said.

"How did you do the thing with the balls?" I asked. "Getting the smaller Goblins into balls? Was it Practitioner magic?"

The Goblin Mother gave a snort and a series of grunts.

"Says she ordered them to compress and they did. Smaller fucks are dumb, moment they break they attack and you have to order them again. Us smarter fucks can become special things. She didn't say that last part, just adding my own flavour."

"Then all of you," I said. "Compress."

The Goblin Mother grunted and then fell face first, her skin drying out and then blowing away while still staying in the circle. When it was done, there was a chain that looked like it was barbed wire with a weight at the end. I reached into the circle and took it.

As I moved the thing from my arms to winding it around my body I could see that it had ravaged my costume, pulling bits off the pelt. It would be hard to unwind and it might take bits of my flesh. But that seemed fitting with what I knew about Goblins.

I walked to Lizard. He disappeared and a knife with a curve tipped appeared in his place, the handle made of green leather. Squat was grinning as he turned into a slingshot. A simple thing made of scarred leather, not as deadly as the others, but it would be magic, right?

The smaller Goblins hadn't turned into anything.

Molly chose that moment to come out, she had a book and pen in hand, she was sketching out symbols. She glanced back towards the trio who were walking away, the smallest one talking with exaggerated hand movements.

"What are they?"

"Faeries," said Molly. "Good thing you didn't pick a fight."

"I thought Faeries stayed away from you," I said.

Molly shook her head. "Those guys are banished from wherever Faeries live," she said. "They're a bit more reckless when they can get away with it." She finished her sketch. "These guys are too weak to be able to be weapons. You have to bind them  _in_ something."

I nodded, telling them to go into the paper when Molly was done. They did, the paper scrunching as they jumped within.

I tracked if there was anyone here and then I started sending the bugs back, making sure I kept those I could without disturbing the local ecosystem.

"I need to take the edge off," I said.

"All I have is tea," said Molly.

"That would be glorious," I said.

"I'll clean these up before I make some," she said. "No people around?"

"None that I can sense, but I'll have bugs out here," I said, already walking to the house. I paid attention to how I stepped, to how the ground was  _firm_.

It had been risky, making the promise, but I felt like I had a firmer footing on reality, even if my reserves were still low.

***

Midnight and there were no Others.

Molly slowly went around the property, speaking to the spirits of the wind and the air.

"Guess you were right about the prison thing," she said as we were walking back into the house.

I only hummed.

I wasn't tired physically, but emotionally it was another. This was too much to do in a single day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summons**

**Interlude**

_Molly_ _’s breath caught. She took a breath in, slurping the crud that had been running out of her nose. She’d tried being quiet, but it hadn’t been enough._

_Callan didn_ _’t knock, opening the door, expression twisting into something ugly. Molly tried to hide the crying, tried look presentable but it was already too late._

_“It’s them, isn’t it?” he said._

_Molly didn_ _’t say anything looking down, ashamed. Callan had warned her that things with Paige would eventually sour. It had been Peter’s fault, but it said something that Paige had let it happen._

_Callan sighed, his features softening as he sat down, one arm going around his sister._

_“We all have our ways of playing this. Maybe it’s not intentional on your part, but…” He sighed. “Sympathy only gets you so far,” said Callan, his tone softer. “But where that old bitch is concerned, it means nothing. So don’t bet on it. Play the game like they do or else you won’t survive.”_

_***_

It hurt more than anything to admit it, but these were the rules to this world, she had to be clear, honest and upfront. There was nothing saying she couldn’t delude herself, but it would be starting off on the wrong foot.

She took a breath and thought,  _Callan was right._

Grandmother hadn’t been sympathetic. Molly had pleaded as much as she could and the woman had been unmoved. She’d stared down at her, impassive as she’d handed down what was essentially a death sentence.

Molly took another breath, slowly letting it out.

She was in the library with books on the basics of Elementalism and Shamanism spread out in front of her. She was supposed to be reading, finding a safe and cost-efficient solution for summoning and binding a spirit of fire, but she wasn’t. Instead she was all too aware of the metaphorical nuclear weapon that was just a floor above: The Barber.

The cause for all the shit that she and her family were under right now, the things they dealt with and the things that accrued so much bad karma for just calling them into the world. But then, they were dangerous, weren’t they? Left the world permanently  _bereft._

The universe didn’t like that and it meant it reacted violently in its own roundabout way.

“Dumb universe,” she muttered. Because it was  _dumb._ Two weeks since she’d really been introduced in this world and two weeks that she hadn’t slept well, left desperate and finding more and more she was edging towards the red button.

_Just one press,_ she’d thought after a Goblin that had relished in bad smells had drenched the house in them.  _Just one press and it_ _’ll be over in one capacity or another._

But she couldn’t, because that wasn’t the person she was. She’d been raised as a Thorburn, but she’d told herself that she wouldn’t be like the others. She’d told herself that she didn’t care about the money, that she just wanted to be happy and she wanted Christoff to be happy.

Then  _this._

Another breath, slowly in and then out.

She was feeling refreshed. She’d had four hours of sleep without incident and it was refreshing, waking up early because she didn’t want to rush through preparations. She’d wanted to get some reading in, see if the path she was taking was correct—as much as she could when most of the books leaned in one direction—and then go ahead.

She looked at the books spread out and she felt a little confidence in her actions.

Most of the practices used spirits in one form or another: Enchanters worked through the spiritual ties between people, things and sometimes concepts; Valkyries used the impressions left by people on the world, imbuing objects with them for various effects; even Chronomancers used zeitgeists to control the fundamental forces.

But the basics of manipulating the spirits were practices she sought to make her own.

_Elementalist: A Practitioner who uses elemental spirits for various effect._

_Shaman: A Practitioner who forms a strong relationship with a particular spirit and rises up the ranks. The better the relationship, the greater the favour._

There was middle ground as much as there often was in magic and she was planning on walking that line.

She stood, stretching a little before she moved onto her implements. There was a jar and water and sugar, she’d pulled some in from the kitchen so she could work better.

She poured the water into the jar and then a copious amount of the sugar. The spirits she was trying to entice were air and wind spirits, often symbolically linked to childhood and innocence. When appealing to a child, it was often better to use something sweet.

She started stirring, letting the repetitive nature of the task set her in a meditative trance. This had to be done well, the sugar evenly distributed because these were children in one aspect, but  _not_ in the other.

They were kids that talked about their feelings, even if they might deride each other as children might. They would communicate and share knowledge on the treat, push it in the other’s face that their offering was  _sweeter._ She would win over one section, while another would be left resentful.

But of course this was just her thoughts on the matter, trying to read in on the symbolism and just continue forward. It was very likely that she might be just be wrong and that she was wasting power, with the Duchamps able to look in on her without trouble.

She shook her head, she couldn’t doubt. Belief was a source of fuel in one respect even if it could be more trouble than it was worth. An idea could become a spirit could become a god if it was  _fed_ by collective faith, by  _belief._

Small though it was, believing that this would work would sway the spirits in a direction.

She checked the water over and found that the sugar had dissolved. She found a sowing needle in the drawers and pricked her finger. A bead of blood formed and fell, hitting the water and diluting; another bead of blood formed and fell; the third formed and fell. Blood was power, and here, being freely given, it was the best power of all.

She grabbed a towel and pressed it against her finger.

“This is my offering to the spirits of the wind and air,” she said, looking at the water.

There wouldn’t be many spirits listening, but it would be enough and it would  _matter._

She walked around the room until she found her watch. It was near six in the morning, forty-five minutes before she would have to start with the ritual.

She took a breath, looked up to the second floor, towards the door and she felt the unease she often felt when she was about to step out of her sanctuary, now more than ever, because she was hiding from a  _monster._

888

_“Come on, big sis, don’t you think you’re being a little naive?” said Christoff. Molly stopped short, giving his brother a look. The boy had an excited grin on him, light in his eyes. It was a rare thing these days, when there was just so much_ pressure.

_“Naive?” More than anything she wanted to ask if the tone was something that came from Callan, something Christoff had picked up, but she couldn’t. Christoff was smart enough to know that her family was_ bad,  _but that was the extended family. If it was affirmed that it was the same closer to home_ _…_

_“Yeah. It’s obvious what’s going to happen, I think they were right,” he continued, unaware of Molly’s thoughts. “Sometimes it’s better to be on the offensive first. Take the threat out before it can become that.”_

_“Bleak worldview,” Molly commented. She wanted to fight against it, but maybe Christoff didn’t realise that the same feelings that a movie was bringing forward, would be the same feeling that he might feel when he had to make the same decision in reality._

_Christoff only shrugged._ _“Are you up for watching the second movie?” he asked._

_Molly nodded._

***

Juxtaposition: Two things being placed together with contrasting effect.

_Taylor_ sat on the couch with a book in front of her. She was sitting so that her legs were dangling on one armrest, while her back rested on the other. Her Abyss clothes had been taken off and she was now wearing shorts she must have picked up in the basement and a shirt that was from the Abyss going by the muck.

_Skitter_ was working. Crabs were pulling out clumps of dirt from her hair and letting it fall on the ground, where it fell, bugs would pile around it, pulling it apart and then sending it outside to be thrown away; giant hornets and spiders were coordinating in a show, the hornets practising swiping knives and the spiders cutting and spooling silk to let the knives free or catch them as required; and a congregation of spiders were on a wall, building an intricate circle with silk.

The monster and the girl.

She was younger than Molly, even if she was taller, but anyone else might believe the reverse to be true. She was confident in how she carried herself, with a keen eye and cool mind. A day she’d been dropped into this world of magic and in that time she’d accrued more power than Molly had been able to, fought off threats Molly had feared might end her, and at the end of it all, could relax without worry.

A girl and a monster.

“Are we going to do your thing soon?” Taylor said.

Molly nodded, her jar held in hand. Taylor wasn’t using the  _voice,_ wasn’t using the cacophony of clicks and cracks, the reverberation of fear incarnate that was the Abyss’ power,  _the monster._ Like this, she was the girl that liked tea instead of coffee, who’d thanked her for saving her life.

But just as quickly, she could be the monster. For that matter, the monster was there, just beneath the surface.

Molly blinked, using the blink to peer into the spirit world. She saw Taylor, no  _Skitter,_ as she truly was: A humanoid figure with a mask of human flesh over warped bones; her arms were bent with no hands but the scythes of a mantis; she had the eyes of a bee, with gossamer thin threads shooting out of them, so numerous and clustered that they looked like solid columns bending to encompass every direction; and her head was cancerous, showing a shifting  _thing_ that seemed to be alive, pumping something wet beneath.

She pulled back before the sight of the cancerous things could disgust her to the point where it showed on her face. She looked at the girl because it was easier.

_But she_ _’s a monster,_ she thought to herself.  _She_ _’s dangerous. The only reason she’s here is because I’m the safest option._

Even so, a part of her felt disgusted at herself. She was a Thorburn through her mother, even with the Walker name she’d always been in the running to get the property and the money that came along with it. Therefore, she’d always been an enemy to the others, someone to be crushed.

She’d played the game at one point, giving as good as she’d got and in the end, she’d been disgusted at herself.

It was the same thing here, except, it was more justified, right? She was in danger, the stakes were higher. If she didn’t protect herself, if she didn’t focus on being stronger, while pushing everything back…

She mentally shook her head. Too many thoughts like that and she would find herself saying  _‘fuck it’_ and pressing the red button.

“Give me a second,” said Taylor and slowly, she became Skitter.

Dark pants that looked like there were bug shells, silk and pelts strung together; gloves that had claws attached to the fingertips; a wolf pelt that served as a cloak, with a hood that was a wolf’s head, the thing’s dead eyes following her whichever direction she moved; a crude metal mask; and then the  _bugs._

They poured out of the walls, ceiling and from the floor, climbing onto her and making her  _bigger._ They started filling in her hair, constantly moving and making it come to life.

With the bugs she was bigger, buffer and more intimidating.

Molly peered into the spirit world and she was blind. Skitter was now a collection of lights, similar spirits that worked together to cloak the girl in the middle. When she tried to look past them she felt as Skitter felt the connection, immediately looking back even with Molly not having reached her yet, instead getting lost in all the connections that stretched between the bugs.

**“We can go,”** said Skitter and her voice reverberated,  _softer_ than it usually was, but still catching her off guard. It came from every direction at once.

She swallowed and nodded.

Christoff had called her naive because she’d questioned the attack on God the Primordial, saying that it was better sometimes to not give the monster a chance to turn on you. But what if the monster was the only option?

888

**“Do you have anything else to wear?”**

Molly started a little. How could she not when the words had come from the ground. She put the jar down, giving herself a moment to look over her work. Peering into the spirit world she could see that it was working: A collection of wind spirits were moving around the property, doing their best to congeal into a form, but ultimately failing and continuing in their path.

She didn’t have a clear time frame, but if everything went as it was now, with no interruptions, then she might have a spirit that could have a form pretty soon.

She pulled back, looking into the physical world and thought on Skitter’s words. She felt her stomach twist. Skitter still wanted to go out, explore the city and with how insistent she was being, it was only a matter of time before Molly had no other choice but to acquiesce.

She still hadn’t really looked into calling and binding a fire spirit without burning herself alive, and she was a little scared that she might be missing something.

“Something like what?” Molly asked.

**“Running shoes, more comfortable pants and shirt,”**  Skitter said.  **“You live on a hill, good enough ground to start running exercises. Whatever the situation, whatever you’re facing, it’s always handy to have the option to run. Better still being able to run on uneven ground. I’m thinking we start while we still have a moment to breathe.”**

“But—”

Skitter shook her head.  **“I made a promise to protect you. If I protect you on a case by case basis, I leave myself open to slipping up. But if I train you…There’s the saying about teaching a man to fish.”**

“But, if you do that—”

“I’m less guilty if I decide that this isn’t worth it,” said Taylor.


	8. Chapter 8

**Counsel**

**2.01**

“Something’s outside,” I said.

Molly sighed, hunching a little. How she held her jar under her armpit, how her clothes were too big and the general sense that she’d given up, I didn’t like. It hit a little too close to home, when Emma’s campaign had been at its worst and I was barely hanging on. I hadn’t been able to really do anything then, because of one reason or another.

But here…

“Oh,” said Molly. “It was only a matter of time. What is it, do you know?”

“Haven’t really checked, because it’s not important yet,” I said. “It’s inside the property and watching. But it’s keeping its distance.”

Molly’s expression, which had been resigned, was getting worse. We’d spent three days with each other, three days in which I’d started giving her minor lessons and I had it in mind that she was starting to have an estimation of who I was,  _how_ I taught.

She swallowed. “You’re not attacking it,” she said. “Adding it to your coterie, if I’m using that word right.”

“I’m not,” I said. “Just watching. I think that you know why.”

Molly sighed, a long drawn out thing before she stood straighter. Her clothes didn’t do her any justice when she was going for intimidation, but I would play my part where it counted.

I was already in costume, had been since our visitor had made their appearance, and bugs were running over me. I had a circle of silk created out of fear-infused spider’s silk, floating in the sky and waiting to be draped over the being. I wasn’t sure it would work and I hadn’t asked Molly because that would be putting some of my tricks in the open. There was the chance in all of this that we might be opponents, I had to have an advantage of one form or another.

She looked at me and I could still see the glimmers of fear in her eyes. “Let’s go.”

“No fear,” I said as we walked to the door. “If it’s a Bogeyman—”

“It’ll feel it and feed off of it. Yeah,” said Molly. Slightly irritable. She was like that sometimes when I was telling her to do something.

The  _thing_ was inside the property, standing near the gate and looking like it was on its last leg. It was gaunt with ash grey, dry skin; it had no lips, showing yellowed teeth; and eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. The thing wore clothes but they were  _old,_ tattered and dirty. A different dirty from the Abyss, a more ordinary dirty.

“Not a Bogeyman,” I said, bugs close to Molly’s ear. She jumped a little, but the fear was directed at me, which was better than if it was directed at the thing.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. She wasn’t shouting and yet the wind carried her voice just a little, reminding me of what the Eidolon clone had done with his power. “This is unlikely to turn into a fight.”

I was following just behind her as she walked forward. She was shorter and weaker most likely even with how the thing looked so close to death, but she  _glared._

“Your presence here offends me,” she said, taking on a sharp tone. “You stink of death and disease.  _Leave_ or you will be forced to do it one way or another.”

The thing looked at her and then at me. I didn’t feel any fear running off of it, but that didn’t matter. I’d been feeding myself with fear in small ways while I’d been reading, scaring people here and there when they were in my range. I hadn’t done anything as brash as I’d done with those teenagers, making a bug clone that rushed them, but the little hints of fear helped keep the Abyss away.

Fighting here might be harder because I didn’t have every bug with me, but I’d already prepared the grounds in little ways. Bugs were in the air, carrying ants that would go for the eyes; my fear spiders had used channels in the ground to get close and had wound silk around the thing’s legs for a bit of resistance, a bit of a stumble before I hit it with the Goblin chain.

It started moving, turning and stumbled. It looked towards the ground, connected the dots and then looked back, at  _me_ in particular. I didn’t know what it was thinking, but I could see it doing so, see the consideration in its eyes. I didn’t move, didn’t prepare myself because this was about image.

It took a step, opened the gate and then left, shambling away.

Molly didn’t let out a relieved breath, instead she went forward with her ritual. When she was done and we were safely in the house, her legs gave out and I caught her. She let out a long breath, her eyes closed, a shiver moving through her.

“That was good,” I said.

“Fuck me, we were lucky,” she said, a shaky edge to her voice.

“You know what it was?”

“The wind spirits gave me an idea,” she said. “They warped the air so that it hit my nose. The death, bits of animal musk. I think it might have been a Wendigo or a Ghoul.”

“Creatures of death, cannibals each dangerous in their own ways,” I said. Both of them cannibals but the Wendigo was on the animal end with all that came with that. It was strong and fast, had good senses, and it stalked its prey. A Ghoul was human, but they could be a former Practitioner which often meant they had some link to their powers.

From the journal, the Thorburns had only had luck binding the latter, while the former had managed to escape after an imperfect binding.

“Maybe it wasn’t too hungry,” said Molly. “Which helped us because it could  _think,_ it could cower. But what if it wasn’t? What if…”

She stopped.

“What if?” I said, even if I had an inkling where this might be going. The Forest Spirit had said it, explaining why it would be so bad to work with the Thorburns, with Molly. He’d equated it to balance, but I’d known it as Karma before then.

“It’s…I want to say nothing,” she said. “But it really isn’t. It’s something and it’s something big.”

“Big enough that it might affect me by association?” I asked.

She looked up at me and swallowed. “Big enough that you might just leave,” she said.

“The whole nuclear weapons things is already making me lean towards that direction,” I said. “But this might  _push_ me to. I have my safety to consider, Molly, you have to think about that when you decide to do things, when you decide not to tell me things. You have to consider that if an option might save you and kill me, I’m unlikely to do it, and if I’m forced to and survive, things are worse for you because I’ll have a grudge.”

“Fuck, I know that,” she said, irritate again. She pulled herself to her feet, running a hand through her hair. She closed her eyes, breathed in and then slowly let it out. “Karma. I’m in debt. The stuff my family trades in…it…it’s  _bad._ When you pull one into the world, it leaves the universe upset and the universe has no choice but to react.”

“Bad karma,” I said. “You find things not going your way?”

She nodded. “Flip a coin and you find that the result doesn’t favour you,” she said. “You meet a person and they don’t like you off the bat, something about you rubs them the wrong way.”

“You summon a monster and it’s smart enough that it can escape, better able to kill you,” I said.

Again she nodded. “There’s a path of less resistance towards screwing up my life,” she said. “Other Practitioners find reason to attack me, Others find that the situation favours them attacking me even on an instinctual level.”

 _And I find that I’m paranoid, that I don’t trust you and that there’s more reason to leave you in this situation even though it would be the_ wrong  _thing to do._

“Can’t you undo this?” I asked. “Make it so you have good karma?”

“I can take steps towards lessening my debt, but it’s unlikely that I’d be able to achieve it,” she said. “By my grandmother’s estimation it would take at least three generations, all of them working towards clearing the debts, before it might be nil. But that’s without taking into account everything else about the world. How the debt actually makes it easier to rationalise using the bad stuff.”

The universe had an intelligence and it was extremely dumb. Or was it? I could see it being smart in a ruthless way. Lean things towards taking out people with nuclear weapons and it would give other people who could have access to them pause. They might think if it was really worth the trouble to deal with whatever they thought those weapons could solve.

On an individual level it was dumb because it bred desperation, it forced people into a corner, but on a macro level, it likely worked.

No one messed with civilian identities. On an individual level it didn’t make sense, it benefited the heroes to just try and track down the cape in their civilian identities and then get them at home. But thinking about it larger, it would change the way things worked. Villains would find they were more inclined to hurt heroes in their civvies, most probably bringing family into the mix.

Essentially the same thing if in reverse.

Except the universe thought of an individual as the  _entire_ family line and it had a trend of lumping people in with the person affected. Maybe that was its own sort of message?

I nodded, aware that Molly was watching me, that she had that look of desperation in her eyes again. She was so afraid that I’d leave, that the protection I offered would be gone. It was something that I could use to get what I wanted. But did I want to?

“Think about preparing another book,” I said. “I’m almost finished with this one.”

She nodded, not looking any better as she went upstairs and into that other room.

I didn’t need to sleep anymore, not that I wanted to when Others could attack in those hours. The book was reaching its end and it had taken on a same-y quality to everything. The Thorburns seemed to deal a lot with Goblins, sometimes with Ghosts and Wraiths, and some Bogeymen that I could name.

It was a slog, but I had to get through it, piecing together the common elements when it came to binding and getting a feel of the symbolic nature of all of this.

Reading helped, but I had the feel that things would be better in the thick of it, going against them and thinking on the fly and then feeling the exhilaration of unadulterated fear as I won.

I shook my head of the thought, too much fighting put me in the position where I might lose and that would be bad in this world.

***

“I heard you were looking for me,” said the Revenant. He had his hands in his pocket and a large smile on him as he took me in. We were standing leaning against the outermost wall of the Thorburn property. It was early enough into the day that there weren’t much people around and I would sense them if they got too close.

“Guzzler?” I asked.

“That’s what you call her,” he said, a hint of amusement. I shrugged. “Not her directly, but tracking the information back, I heard she was looking for me.”

“Has she actually found you?” He shook his head. Which meant Guzzler still had free reign to look for him, pass on the message.

“She managed to slip the noose?”

I nodded. “My wording was off and she managed to run,” I said. “It’s a mistake I’ll try not to make again.”

“A mistake our kind often don’t make,” he said. “It’s not often that I find…one who isn’t so enraptured in the blood lust. Someone that I can actually talk to without having to watch my back.”

“Even though you are,” I said. I gestured towards his pocket and I was sure he held a weapon there, even if I didn’t have enough bugs to tell what the weapon  _was._

“I’ve seen you work,” he said. “In a clear fight, I’d need every advantage. This works better for me. Being closer towards protecting myself if it’s needed.”

“I can’t fault you,” I said. Especially when I was doing the same in one capacity or another. “I need information. I need a lay of the land.”

“She hasn’t given it to you,” he said, gesturing towards the house on the hill.

I shook my head. “She's afraid of me. If she gives me too much, she's scared I'll turn on her.”

“Smart of her,” he said. “You managed to call me here, against her wishes, I’m sure.”

“She doesn’t know you’re here.”

The Revenant nodded. “How much do you know?”

“Assume I know nothing,” I said.

Again he nodded. “About this world even?” he asked, a knowing look in his eyes. I said nothing and that seemed to be answer enough for him. “First thing you should know, everything comes at a price.”

“I see,” I said. “And what price will you toll?”

“Only compensation in abstract,” he said. “I give you this and I earn goodwill. It means that, if I’m walking down alone one evening, I don’t have to worry about the bugs that skitter in the darkness.”

He was smiling as he said the last. I wasn’t amused in the least, particularly since it meant, “People already know,” I said.

“About your reach? Your influence? A few, and more soon,” he said. “Some of us saw the mass of bugs in the sky, so dark that they would have hidden the moon; others heard and others were watching as you fought the Goblin.”

Watched, even with Molly and the ritual she was doing with the air and wind spirits? Or maybe it had been the Faeries? I hadn’t wanted to fight them and I’d given them a deal, only they’d either reneged or were pushing it off.

“It’s safe to say that it’s in my best interest if I’m seen as a friend,” he said. “Which is why I’m not asking for something concrete.”

“I have to wonder, though,” I said. “Does it still work now that you’ve told me?”

“Another thing to know,” he said. “The spirits are ever-present. They watch everything and they  _decide._ They like certain things, a person being forthright, no deceit or forcing them to decide whether something might be truth or lie. They like being played to,  _theatrics._ So, even if it works against me to tell  _you_ all this, it puts me in favour with the spirits.

“But it also works on you. Would I be wrong in saying that you’re more likely to work with me again, knowing that I’ve answered your questions honestly, just because I have an ulterior motive?”

“No. Not entirely,” I said and sighed. I was short on options, and in most cases, the known was better than the unknown. “Since you’ve said this, doesn’t it mean the spirits are aware of this and will hold a grudge?”

“The spirits, for the most part, have short memories,” he said. “They’re arbiters and not for just us, but for the world. They’ll hold on only to the essentials. Something to akin to, ‘This fellow was just, a point in his favour,’ and then disregard the rest.”

_Scary._

“Are you from the Abyss?” I asked him.

“No, but I know a little about it,” he said. He smiled, too wide. “I was waiting for that redirect. How do you stop yourself from getting back? Short term, kill the one who summoned you and that will loose the Abyss’ grasp over you.”

“But if that isn’t an option?”

“Then fear or making an impact on the world. Make sure that you’re remembered,” he said. “Choose a pattern a stick with it. A Bloody Mary that attacks only women, a Bogeyman that sleeps for much of the year and only wakes up on certain days.”

“Friday the thirteenth?”

“The unlucky day,” he said. “You could, but too many already do that and they no doubt feed the Voorhees boy, even though he’s neither a Bogeyman or a Revenant. Pattern makes you easier to predict, but it also gives the spirits something to hold on to, a direction to give power. ‘Was someone killed by ants in Toronto? Is there a bug or ant spirit? No? Then it’s likely that Bug Bogeyman in Jacob’s Bell. She can do that right? Close enough.’”

I nodded. “Can you tell me about the locals, something closer to home? Who to watch out for?”

“That would be earning the ire of a lot of people,” he said.

“That seems to be a trend,” I said. “Working with me is by extension working with Molly, which is frowned upon.”

The Revenant hummed. “I’ve heard that the Thorburns deal in the worst Others that exist.  _Demons.”_

I frowned, all at once underwhelmed. I’d read books that featured demons and they hadn’t been all that scary. In almost all of them they were outsmarted, used as pets or power sources.

“Scare me,” I said, because this would be falling into a trap. The Revenant frowned. “Tell me the worst sort of story about Demons, something that will leave me with an ungodly fear of them.  _Scare me.”_

“Oh,” he said and then frowned. “This wasn’t a Demon, but a mote, which is to say something that could become a Demon if it played its cards right. A lesser demon. But in such things you can scale them up.”

I nodded.

“The mote manifested as a puddle and it  _took._ An object falls through and it would disappear from the world, unfindable, irretrievable. But the were other effects, the mote leaving behind a strong obsession to find that which is lost. Hypothetically: A ring is lost and the bearer searches for it, they think they see something similar on a person, perhaps a friend or an enemy. They confront the person only for it to be denied, but they’re  _sure_ that the person took it. In a moment of weakness they do something, break into a house, kill the enemy in a moment of passion, and they find that the ring isn’t there. Instead of dealing with what they’ve done, they only focus on the fact that the ring isn’t there and they keep searching for it.

“It’s worse still with people, because they’re webs of connections. A man has a wife and kids, he has three brothers, parents and grandparents. He has friends, associates and colleagues, he has people, unknowingly, who have crushes on him. He falls through and the mote's effect stretches out through each one of those connections. The stronger the connection and the stronger the effect. The parents find that they’re spending all of their money to find their disappeared son, they’re getting into debt and when banks refuse them they go to loan sharks. They’re ruined. This manifesting differently across everyone, with maybe the lucky or unlucky, finding their way to the puddle and the process spreading out through them. Getting strong with those that were previously affected.”

_Radiation._

A magical effect that spread outward.

I let out a breath, nodding. It helped because I could frame it. I could put myself in the middle of it all, imagine as my friends were hit by that obsession, as my  _Dad_ was hit by obsession. But it wouldn’t only affect them, people I was connected to by some degree, I might find that Greg felt it or Charlotte or a kid I’d helped while fighting the Nine. Undoing every good I’d ever done by inflicting a roundabout suffering.

“That helps,” I said, even if it wasn’t the same sort of horror that people on this world felt. But then, they might have a similar reaction if I told them about the Endbringers.

“Gives more weight to just killing her,” he said. “You’d even be hailed as a hero if you did. I’m sure you’d get anything you asked for from the locals.”

“Tempting,” I said.

“But I get the sense that you’re not going to do it.”

“Not with things as they are, now,” I said. “Will you tell me about the locals? Are you willing to risk it for my goodwill?”

“No,” he said and I knew what was coming. “But, for a concrete price, I maybe could.”

“What would that price be?”

“Gingersnatch, the Goblin,” he said. “Do you remember him?”

“Vaguely.”

The Revenant pulled a silver knife out and then he showed it to me. Looking and I could see an image within, the Goblin I’d seen before. Gingersnatch.

“You want me to go after him?”

“Go after him and attack him,” he said. “At the right moment, I’ll be there, and when things are done, I’ll tell you as much as you need to know.” I said nothing. “Or you could  _not_ do it and that would be fine too. I’ll give you some time to decide and don’t worry, you don’t need to contact me, just do this and I’ll know.”

With that, he turned away.

Molly, the Forest Spirit, the Faerie and now the Revenant. I’d asked and I hadn’t gotten an answer. At this point, it was starting to get frustrating.

I started walking back to the house, skimming through the last few sections of the book.

A quick knock and Molly opened the door. It looked like I’d just woken her up. She glanced at her watch, not even five yet.

“I finished the book,” I said. She looked slightly surprised by that.

“Give me a bit,” she said. She closed the door and I waited. She returned carrying a book that had a lot of illustrations of circles as well as some of the meanings behind them. “I saw what you were doing with the silk, it can’t have been much with the book you were working with.”

“Yeah,” I said, because a part of me was still frustrated that she wasn’t telling me about the Practitioner forces I would be facing.

I turned, starting to leave.

“We’re going to have to go out today,” she said. I stopped and turned. I tilted my head to the side. “In three days there’s going to be a Council meeting. I want you to attend with me.”

I nodded.

Everything had a price. The price for protecting her was her bringing me with her, opening the possibility that I might be enticed in that meeting. She was doing her best to secure things so that I didn’t want to leave.

I didn’t doubt that she would be summoning the fire spirit to be bound pretty soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Counsel

2.02

“Fair warning,” said Molly. “I’m not a confident driver.”

“I’ll make sure to wear my seatbelt,” I said and I did. I wasn’t sure where things lay with my mortality, but both possibilities weren’t good. Either I’d be sent back to the Abyss when I died or I’d just die. I couldn’t have either of those for different reasons.

The Abyss because I just might not survive the second time going through it, and death because there was just so much to do. The world would end in two years,  _my_ world would end and that needed to be stopped. Dinah had said I’d been  _there_ and that I’d been different, I had to wonder if her power had taken all of  _this_ into account. Had she seen me as a Bogeyman in her thinker vision?

Figuring out the minutiae wasn’t important right now. I had a goal I had to focus on, a set path. Magic had brought me into this universe and without any help from the others, maybe Tattletale hiring Faultline’s crew, I’d have to use magic to open a portal back home.

I glanced at Molly as she gathered herself, her hands at ten and two, looking down the driveway.

It wasn’t likely that Molly would be the one knowledgeable enough create something like that through magic, and maybe abandoning her would be easier for me in the long run. But would I be able to live with myself after? Would I be able to look at myself in the mirror when there was the constant thought that I’d doomed a girl through inaction?

I didn’t think I could do that.

She started the car, old enough that it was  _stick._ She shifted into gear and the thing lurched forward, stuttering before starting to move. She shifted into second then third, in there she was able to find comfort, the car gliding forward. We reached the end of the driveway  and we had to stop, look for incoming traffic and the car stuttered again.

“Drive slow,” I said. “I need to keep track of things.”

She nodded.

I wasn’t in my costume, but it was in the trunk. I had three knives with me, the metal knife from the Abyss, the jaw bone and the curved Goblin knife. The latter I was more aware of than the others because it seemed to go out of its way to smack into me, slicing my skin and making me bleed. It hadn’t been a lot, but it had already caught me two times, I didn’t want a third.

The Goblin chain was in the trunk, as well as the two chains, both of them having been treated to heat before we left. Molly had improved her inscription and the heat would now last marginally longer.

But hopefully, this trip wouldn’t be something where we were forced to fight.

“What’s our budget?” I asked. We were now on the road, moving at a sedate pace. Molly was paying keen attention even though there wasn't much traffic.

“Brought all the money I have,” she said. “But I’m not sure we should spend it all, just in case an emergency comes up? We’ll have to get a few things on my end. A large amount of salt and chains.”

“You’ve got a project in mind?”

She nodded. “Something a little faster than what I’m doing with the wind and air spirits,” she said. “I want to gather ghosts, bind them into objects for various effects. Using ghosts won’t be as powerful as using a soul might be, but…” She frowned, shaking her head. “That’s not territory I want to go into.”

“Ghosts are easier to handle than a fire spirit?”

“They’re easier to banish,” she said. “But…I’ve been thinking on it, and I think I might have an idea on how to go about it.”

“I’m interested in hearing your thought process,” I said, making sure to phrase it so she was ultimately deciding.

She was quiet, considering before she spoke, “This side of the world the core elements are water, air, fire and earth. They’re foils for each other in a respect: Water snuffs out fire; fire eats air and grows; air scatters earth—”

“Scatters earth?” I said, a brow raised. “I don’t think that makes sense.”

“Yeah,” said Molly, with a small smile. “Had to turn my head around that a little until I found that the book was from either Egypt or the Middle East, originally. Earth there is sand and the wind scatters sand around. At any rate that sort of symbolism persisted, and maybe the universe wanted something neat? Rock, paper, scissors deal?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know enough about this to comment.”

“Like I was saying, air scatters earth; and earth sort of sucks up water. When I think about binding a fire spirit I have to use something that…can hold the fire, while not being eroded away by fire’s nature or snuffing the spirit out.”

“That only leaves earth,” I said. “Hence the salt? Above and beyond the ghost thing?”

“Earth, yes,” she said. “But, that’s sort of dangerous when you think about it. I’ve been feeding air and wind spirits for the last four days. Spirits that are childish with a sense of mischief.”

I nodded, connecting the dots. “Air scatters earth, which means the spirits protecting the property are likely to mess with the circle you’ll have made,” I said.

“Which would just be disaster,” she said. “Fire is passionate, preferring to go out in a blaze than anything long term. It would snap up the power from the air spirits and become a veritable blaze. Things would be worse because we live in a wooden house. Worse still—” She stopped, her hands twisting harder around the wheel.

“Nuclear weapons,” I said. Molly swallowed and then nodded. “Couldn’t we do this somewhere else? Away from the house in case things go badly? We have to think about your Karma in all of this.”

“Yeah, but that would be its own sort of trouble,” she said. “We’d have to look out for people than might happen across us, have to watch out for Others that might try and attack us while we work or the advantage that’ll be lost if they know the weapons we have.”

“With a choice between nuclear weapons going off and our enemies knowing what to expect in a fight,” I said. “I’d rather the latter. Anyway I could gather bugs, prepare for enemy action.”

“I’m sort of worried about how varied enemy action might be,” she said.

“Which,” I said, “might be reason for you to give me a little information about the local Practitioners. How they fight, how they use magic and what my defending you might mean.”

Molly didn’t say anything.

“Molly,” I said, my frustration there. “Keeping information from me doesn’t help you if it gets you killed. I’m asking this with your interests in mind.”

“Solely my interests?” shes asked. “Isn’t there an ulterior motive there?”

 _“Of course,_ there is,” I said. “I want to know because there’s stuff I want to do too. But what  _I_ want and what you want don’t need to be mutually exclusive.”

“All of this is easy to say  _now,”_ she said. “But what if I tell you about their craft and they can do something I can’t? If it’s just better to deal with them?”

I let out a sigh. “Molly, even without knowing them, I know that most of the others could help me better than you are now,” I said. “But I also know what they would most likely ask of me. They’d want me to kill you and…I just couldn’t do that and live with myself. I couldn’t just do that when you’re relatively innocent and are caught up in something you didn’t cause. It’s not in me.”

“Yet,” she said. “But—”

“But that could change? That I’m a Bogeyman? A monster?”

“Yes!” she said. She put her foot too hard on the accelerator and the car moved forward too quickly. She slowed down, taking a breath. “Yes, yes. Because it’s easier isn’t it? I’ve been reading about Bogeymen and I’ve seen the pattern, read between the lines. The only way you can really stay in this world is if you’re more monster than human.”

“Stupid,” I muttered. “Stupid. Stupid.  _Stupid._ You’re stupid if you’re so…I don’t even know. I can’t even figure out what to say, because…You’re in deep shit, Molly, and  _I’m_ trying to help you. Offering you a lot but you’re just not willing to give ground.”

She looked at me. “There are some things that—” she stopped as there was a crash. We lurched forward and I felt my belt going taut, keeping me from smashing into the window.

A car in front of us and I’d missed it. There were bugs there, but I just hadn’t been paying attention, hadn’t been tracking us relative to the car.

“Oh, fuck,” said Molly. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

The car in front of us had stopped and the driver was stepping out, a large man that looked like he might have been a logger. He looked at his car, it was relatively newer, not metal and had been squashed by ours which had relatively less damage. His expression twisted into rage.

He moved forward with purpose. I quickly pulled off my seatbelt and stepped out of the car. He was already near Molly’s door as I was out, I jumped onto the hood and leapt into him. I slammed into the larger man, tipping him over and into the side of the road. We tumbled and I came out on top.

I jumped off of him as he swung a punch, moving back and closer to Molly who’d gotten out of the car. She looked shell shocked, but there was a far off gaze on her.

The man was coming to a stand.

“Calm down,” I said. I had bugs on him now and I could track his movement.

“The fuck for!” said the man. “You fucking totalled my car!”

“This wasn’t coincidence,” Molly whispered. “Someone’s messing with me.”

The man was frowning. “I know you,” he said. “You’re that Thorburn, bitch.”

“Walker, not Thorburn,” said Molly, she was looking around. Cars were stopping and I was sending bugs out towards them, keeping track of all the people that were moving towards this, towards us. There were just too many people when the streets had been relatively empty before.

“I can pay for the damage,” said Molly.

“Fuck,” the man said. “You’re the one that got the house right? Are you going to sell it?”

“I—”

A woman had stepped out of her car. “Already called the cops,” she said. “Me and my son saw everything. Saw  _that_ one,” she said pointing at me, “attacking you.”

An ugly smile appeared on the man’s face.

“Molly, get in the car,” I said.

“No, you’re not,” said the man. “She gets in the car and she might run off. You’re staying out here with us.” He stepped forward and I did the same, glaring at him. I felt the man’s fear, not enough for him to stop.

“I  _will_ take you down,” I said, my voice cold. He stopped, his fear rising a notch.

Molly was still looking around. “There,” she said, “red car.”

I looked in the direction and I could see a girl there, fifteen, maybe sixteen, with blonde hair. She was watching everything with a dispassionate expression.

“Taylor!” said Molly, but I could already feel the man move. He pushed but I stepped to the side, dodging him. I thrust forward with my foot and the man stumbled forward, hitting the car, slipping and hitting the road hard.

“Assault!” the woman said. “Assault! Did you see that?” She was shouting at the other people that were in their cars, those who wouldn’t have been able to see things clearly.

Molly’s Karma at work? Was the narrative here going to shift against us?

I glared towards the blonde girl. I started pulling in bugs, sending them into her car. I tracked everyone, seeing how they were moving, where they were looking and most of them were looking towards us. I had bugs form in the girl’s car, an ant biting her and getting her attention.

She squealed and peopled turned in her direction.

“Stop,” I said with the bugs I had in the car, kept low so people couldn’t see them. I felt as she  _looked_ at my bugs and then saw as she started scrambling out of the car. Another bite and then another and another, “Don’t move,” I said through my bugs.

She was crying now, and people were getting close, but she stopped.

“I want to talk,” I said. “Can you do something about these people?”

Mouth closed, with tears still in her eyes, she nodded. She wiped her eyes and in the process I saw as people started moving away. I turned away too, looking up ahead where a police car was coming. I felt the car starting to move and my bugs bit the girl again.

“Stop,” I said. “If I have to tell you again, it’s going to be worse than this.”

The car stopped.

“Stop what you’re doing,” I said.

“I can’t,” the girl said, pain evident in her voice. “It’s already set in motion.”

“Then change it’s path,” I said. “Make it so nothing bad happens to Molly, to me.”

She shook her head. “That’s power I don’t have,” she said. “This was going with the natural flow of things. I eased the road a little, but…if I tried, I’d fail.”

“Then try your best,” I said. “Promise me or I’m going to hurt you,  _a lot.”_

“I promise,” she said.

“I think we’re safe,” I said to Molly, whispering because the man on the ground, holding his head. “I don’t know if I took care of the girl, but I got a promise that she’d try to make sure that nothing bad happens to us.”

Molly nodded. The cop car stopped in front of us and two officers stepped out, one younger while the other was older. They took in the scene and then moved in our direction. The woman had walked so that she could easier get to the two police officers.

“…homeless one  _attacked_ him,” the woman said. “He was just trying to keep them from leaving. Everyone saw. You should arrest them.”

“Give us a moment to talk to them,” said the oldest of the two. “We’ll take your statement after.”

The woman nodded, but made sure to stick close.

“Sir,” said the older office. “Are you alright? Do we need to call the EMTs?”

“I…I’m not sure,” said the man. He shook his head, tried to stand and then just sat.

“Don’t try to stand,” he said. “Do you know your name? The date? What you had for breakfast today?”

“Adam Wilson,” the man said. “Today’s August twenty-eighth, twenty-thirteen, and I think I had a sandwich? I’m not even sure I ate.”

“Call in an EMT just to be safe,” said the older office. His younger counterpart nodded, grabbed a radio on his shoulder and spoke through code. “I’m Officer Johnson, that’s Officer Brown. We’ll split you two apart and we’ll take your statements separately. I’ll take the girls.”

Officer Brown nodded. He beckoned us so we were a little away from Adam, pulling out his own notepad.

“Can I have your names for the record?”

“Molly Walker.”

Officer Johnson jotted it down and then looked up when I didn’t say anything. Names held power. Molly hadn’t wanted me to say my name before because it might mean I could be messed with. Could this have all been leading up to this? Me getting my name in the system?

“Miss?” said Officer Johnson.

Did I have a choice but to say it? Because it was likely I would get arrested if I didn’t play along, and even if I could escape, things would be harder down the line. Which was better?

I let out a sigh. “Taylor Hebert,” I said.

“Could you spell that, please. Your last name.”

“H-E-B-E-R-T,” I said, swallowing a lump that was developing in my throat. I could have said I was Skitter, but that would have lead to more questions.

“You’re American, right?” he said. I nodded. “Can I get some ID? Your Visa?”

“I don’t have it,” I said. “I didn’t think I’d need it. We were just going to do some shopping.”

He nodded. I didn’t let out a relieved breath. The statements were true individually, but they gave things a different meaning when put together, imply that I had it, but it wasn’t with me.

“Walker,” he said, looking at Molly. “You’re the girl that inherited the Thorburn house.” Molly nodded. “I’ll assume that Ms Hebert is staying with you?” She nodded again. He jotted that down. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I hit him,” said Molly. “I wasn’t paying enough attention and he must have stopped. It was  _my_ fault.”

Officer Johnson’s brow rose and then he nodded, jotting it down. “Mr Wilson was on the ground,” he said, leaving it open ended.

“He tried to attack me,” I said. “When we hit him, he was aggressive. It looked like he was going to pull open Molly’s door, I thought he might hit her, so I stopped him. He then tried to attack me and I dodged and kicked him. He hit the car, then.”

“When you say you stopped him,” said Officer Johnson. “What do you mean?”

“I jumped over the car and tackled him. I told him to calm down and then went to check if Molly was okay,” I told him. He nodded again and jotted down what I’d said.

“I didn’t ask before, but is anyone of you hurt?” We both shook our heads. “Have you been drinking, Miss Walker?” Molly shook her head. “Okay. I’ll look over the car, see if there was anything else in play and then take statements from the others. Stick close.”

We both nodded, watching the crowd that was forming. I still had an image of everyone and I could see the blonde girl still in her car. She’d been talking on the phone while we spoke, the one sided conversation telling me that she was speaking to her mother.

David Wilson, was laying things on thick, speaking loud enough that the woman could hear him. I was sure Officer Brown knew what was going on, but it didn’t seem like he cared.

“How are things going?” I asked.

The girl jumped.

“No, it’s fine. It’s Molly’s summoning,” she said. I could feel her fear. “Everything is too fixed,” she said to me. “I asked and my family’s talking to Chief Behaim. It’s unlikely that it will stick, but the way things are looking you’ll be asked to—”

“Taylor,” Molly said, low. Officer Johnson had neared the trunk which had popped open a bit. He frowned and then opened it.

“—go to the station,” the blonde finished.

“I’m being told this won’t stick,” I said, low. Officer Johnson was looking into the trunk, where our chains and the Goblin chain were. He looked up and then moved over to Officer Brown.

I moved more bugs in the direction, making sure I could hear things clearly.

“There’s a chain in there with  _stuff_ on it,” he said. “Animal, but we should hold them just in case they’re torturing wildlife. We might check the homeless girl too, I think she might be undocumented.”

“I’ll work faster,” said Officer Brown.

Officer Johnson moved towards us.

“Confidence,” Molly muttered. “Show no fear.”

“Head held high,” I said.

“We’re—”

“Going to the station,” said Molly, she was standing taller. “We know. I expected it.”

“This doesn’t turn out well for us,” I said through my bugs. “I’ll find you.”

I didn’t need to go on, I could  _feel_ she knew the gravity of the situation.


	10. Chapter 10

**Counsel**

**2.03**

_The last time I was in a situation like this, I died._

Bugs seeped out of the walls and Molly started, looking up at them. She looked around, muttering my name under her breath before I felt her starting to  _look_ in my direction. I didn’t look back, it was just so much easier to focus on her with my bugs than that magical sense.

“People could be watching,” she said.

“They’re not,” I said, because I was tracking  _everyone._ Every police officer had a collection of bugs on them, secreted away; they had bugs on their weapons, spiders waiting to spool out silk and make it harder for them to be retrieved. I’d gotten an image of where they kept their reserve weapons, where their breakers were and I’d stolen a few boxes of matches, all of them waiting to be used.

In seconds I would be able to notch up the pressure and escape.

Molly was in her own interrogation room,  _had_ been for the last thirty minutes. I’d been watching the neighbouring room, seeing if there were people watching and from time to time, there had been. In that time, Molly had lost almost all of her nerve.

“I need information,” I said. “Just because we got a promise that this wouldn’t stick, doesn’t mean we’ll get out of here unscathed. I need to know what I’m dealing with. What we dealt with with the girl.”

Molly sighed and then nodded. “The blonde was a Duchamp,” she said. “Enchantress, which is to say, she manipulates connections, the ties between things. She can enhance them or lessen them or redirect them. What happened back there, I think she pushed things towards a certain direction. Increased the natural resentment that people feel for my family.”

Masters but broader. But things as they were, I was reminded of Cherish. Had it been the reason why Molly and I had had our fight? Had she made the connections between the cars to make them crash? Or was it a Karma thing? The universe nudging things along?

“Chief Behaim is a Chronomancer,” Molly continued. “Time magic. I’m not sure how it works, but…Grandmother’s notes says it can be scary given the opportunity.”

I nodded, knowing that she could likely see me because she was still  _looking._ “Time magic, maybe they could push us forward in time, later in the day? Force us to fight our way back?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” she said. “It’s the most obvious option. We’ve been sitting here and that’s time enough that for them to fast track the clock. It’s worse because they might make things harder, impounding the car, making us  _walk._ ”

I let out a sigh through my body, making sure it wasn’t through my bugs. I started focusing on the mess of bugs around the station, looking for something that might be the Chief’s office. I found it and it was surprising that I hadn’t noticed it before, but it was this space that was devoid of bugs.

Maybe a magic spell. I tried sending a bug through and it worked. I sent more in, clustering them together so I could have an image of things. The office was empty and then, all at once, it wasn’t. I felt as people close to the office started moving away, finding things to do elsewhere while a man appeared within.

“Something’s protecting Chief Behaim’s office,” I said. “It just appeared, making me think Ghost.”

“Likely a Zeitgeist,” said Molly. “Time Ghost. It’s power will lean in that direction. But I don’t really know what that means.”

“It’s still a Ghost, though?” I said. Molly nodded. I focused in a macro sense, focusing on how people were moving and then letting my bugs through. In the lower ground floor of the station, near the evidence room, there were bags filled with salt. I got bugs out and they started chewing the bags, letting the salt fall out and more bugs taking the grains and moving them towards Chief Behaim’s office.

I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for, what I was doing, but I needed to have every avenue of this place prepared. If he tried to attack us and used his office as sanctuary, then I needed to make it so he wouldn’t be able to find respite.

“Remember what I taught you,” I said. “Take your time. Don’t get caught up in their tempo. Remember that everything they do is for a purpose. Us being here, the time we’ve spent here, whether this is for something magical or mundane, it’s for you to feel pressure.”

Molly nodded, letting out a breath. “Easier saying all of this than doing it,” she said. “I don’t know what they might do? How to defend myself against it? I think it might have been a little easier if this was something  _Other_ related, but it’s a social situation and I’m not as good with those.”

Neither was I for that matter, but I could strip this down. I needed to show people that going against us wasn't worth the trouble, but that would be hard because these people would know more about dealing with Others than I knew about their magic.

The first of my bugs with grains of salt had reached the floor of the office and they moved towards the Ghost. The thing opened its mouth and the sound of a ticking clock reverberated: the bugs in the room all started getting sluggish and I could feel the effect slowly spreading out, hitting other bugs and slowing them done until they  _stopped,_ unmoving.

I pulled back, focusing on everything and trying to find the pattern. The effect was still spreading, though it was losing weight, my bugs were getting sluggish but not to the point where they stopped. Bugs that were outside the room weren’t being affected.

More bugs with salt entered and they weren’t affected by the magic’s effect. When they got close enough, though, the Ghost used its power again: It opened its mouth and my bugs started slowing down. First the closest bug and those nearest to it until the entire selection of bugs in the room were stopped.

Different tack then. I had spiders start to let out their sticky webs and other bugs starting to connect grains of salt onto the web. Circles were  _hard_ to craft with webs, but ‘circle’ was a relative term. A large square started to grow over the Ghost and it didn’t notice.

“…Officer Behaim,” I heard through my bugs.

I turned my mind in the direction, aware that he should have been in my range a long time and yet I hadn’t noticed him. Maybe the same magic that was in his office? I started moving bugs as discreetly as I could, putting them on his person. It didn’t seem like he noticed.

“You’ve been treating them okay? The girls?” he said.

“In interrogation rooms one and four,” said the other officer. “We’ve mostly let them stew.”

I started projecting the officer’s words to Molly.

“What have we got on them?” Chief Behaim asked.

“They had some sort of…costume? In the trunk? A wolf pelt. They also had chains, one of them was barbed wire. They had these…chunks? We’re running tests but we think it might just be the pelt.”

“Do we have enough that we might charge them for animal cruelty?” the Chief asked.

“Not at face value, which was why we thought we’d separate them, let them stew. They’re bound to slip, let something through.”

The Chief nodded. He was holding a file now, looking through it. “There was something about an American.”

“Tried looking through the database, but it’s down,” said the officer. “We think she might be undocumented.”

Chief Behaim sighed. “I’ll talk to them,” he said. “But…if this doesn’t go well, they could be able to spin things, say that we’re biased against them. I have word from Charlotte Duchamp about how things went, that people were  _sharing_ their story so they might be able to better leverage this situation and it wasn’t put to a stop.”

The man was frowning. “I…”

Chief Behaim shook his head. “No need to comment. We have to be careful how we treat this. The Thorburns…”

“I know what they are,” the man said. “Its why we thought you should handle this, at any rate. We’ll leave it to you.”

“Thank you, Connor,” the Chief said. “I’ll be speaking to the Hebert Girl. I want you to send Molly Walker something to eat when I do, watch her until she’s done.”

The man didn’t even ask why, instead nodding and moving on over to another officer.

“They don’t want us to communicate,” I said through my bugs. My ‘circle’ had finished. An ugly thing that had none of the geometry that spiderwebs naturally had. I hadn’t practised and it was showing. But Chief Behaim was walking towards his office.

I had my spiders let go of the roof, the web caught the wind and slowly fell down. The Ghost noticed, opened its mouth and the ticking sound reverberated again. But it didn’t get traction, the process was slower and the spiders and web dropped on top of it. It flickered out of existence.

With it gone, the bugs that had stopped flickered into activity. I dispersed them through the room, looking for anything that I needed to secret away. In a drawer was a knife and I had bugs stand over it, ready to bite any hand that moved to take it; a gun under the table and it was quickly bound by silk; the same done to three others in the room.

Chief Behaim was closer. I spread the bugs out, hiding them from view, having them undo the web that had caught the Ghost, hiding it. He opened the door, walked into the room and looked around.

I felt him starting to  _look_ in the direction of my bugs and I looked back. I got the image of him frowning, still not looking my way but moving his way through my bugs. He dashed his hand and the image of him was violently cast asunder.

He tsked.

He moved further into the room, going towards a small, old wind-up clock. He started turning the thing’s knob: Once, twice, three times and then the ghost appeared again. There was a pulse outward and then there were bugs on the ground. I couldn’t feel them, couldn’t control them, but I could see them through the others.

They quickly moved back, then skipped time until they were at the point when the Ghost had first appeared. They started moving, going through the motions of what had happened, reciting my manoeuvres.

Chief Behaim was looking around the room. I moved bugs as he turned in their direction, making sure he couldn’t see that I was looking at him. But he stopped where my bugs had been looking. I moved bugs and clustered them together to see what he was looking at it was a mass of bugs clustered in the corner, the bugs I’d been using to watch the Ghost.

The image flickered out.

Chief Behaim went back to the watch, wound it in a quarter turn and watched again. He looked up as bugs started drifting down and then the image flickered out again.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a watch and then he moved too fast, turning and facing my clustered bugs before I could move them away.

“You’re watching,” he said.

I had my bugs form a face, pulling more into the room. The mass of bugs dropped, splattering against the ground and then started gathering itself together into a humanoid form. More bugs were filling into the room, clustering in places so I had multiple views of him, through it all, Chief Behaim stood impassive.

“Yes,” I said and it was said through all of the bugs. “Chief Behaim.”

“Ms Hebert,” he said.

 _“Skitter,”_ I said.

“My apology,” he said. “I was planning to speak to you, offer a deal. You don’t need to try and intimidate me. This is power wasted.”

“No,” I said.

“No?”

“No,” I repeated.

He frowned at that. “I’ll take your word for it,” he said. “You’ve been busy, infiltrating my office, starting to take down my defences.”

“I’m confined,” I said. “This is making sure that it doesn’t stay that way.”

“You don’t have to worry,” he said. “The Duchamps have already asked that I smooth things over and I have. You’ll be free to leave before this day ends.”

“Hard words to trust when talking to a Chronomancer,” I said.

“You’re no doubt imaging a time loop,” he said. He shook his head. “Not something I’m willing to do here,  _now._ No. You’ll leave today. Likely better off if you hear me out, if you’re open to a deal.”

Molly, in her cell, swallowed. I realised I was still projecting things. Had that been conscious? I didn’t stop.

“I’m open to hearing you out,” I said.

He nodded. “Do you mind if I speak to you in person?” he said. “I’m standing and I’d rather be sitting. I’m old.”

“That’s a trap,” said Molly. “He’s watching me and me, him. He knows you’re talking to me. He wants to keep me in the dark. He’ll probably have a ward to make sure you two talk in private.”

“You’re sowing distrust, Chief Behaim,” I said.

“I’m confident as I say, she already distrusts you,” he said. “She’s a Thorburn. In my experience, all of them are like that.”

“I’m not going to take your word for it,” I said. He frowned at that. “Bad mouthing Molly does you no favours. Don’t try and make yourself look better, get to the deal and I’ll choose whether or not it’s worth accepting.”

“As you wish,” he said. “Molly Walker  _dead_ and I’ll give you anything you want that’s within my power to provide.”

Molly’s breath hitched.

“Don’t worry,” I said to her, not through my bugs. Looking at her, I knew that she didn’t buy the words.

“I don’t know the power that you have, Chief Behaim.”

 _“Time,”_ he said. “I can offer it to you. A year, maybe two, and with it on your side, you’d find that the Abyss wouldn’t be able to take you. You’d be free for a period, this above and beyond the power you’d get from killing the one who summoned you.”

“Tempting,” I said. Because it was. It had been when I’d been talking to the Revenant, but even so, it wasn’t something I could do.

“You don’t need to accept,” said Chief Behaim. “Not formally. Let’s put it this way. If you kill Molly Walker, I’ll give you two years of time.”

Molly let out a dry sob. I was frowning.

“There you go again, Chief Behaim, sowing distrust,” I said. The man only smiled, I wanted nothing more at that moment than to punch him. His face looked perfectly punchable.

“A promise,” I said. “Molly.” She didn’t look up, but I could feel the intensity as she used magic to look at the real me. “Unless I think you’ve gone over the edge. I  _won’t_ kill you.”

“A lot of wiggle room,” said Chief Behaim.

He’d been watching? How? I couldn’t feel him as he looked in my direction. The only person I could feel was Molly, except if he was hiding behind Molly? How did that even work?

“Don’t buy it, Molly,” I said, but the words were weak. Molly didn’t trust me, this was adding fuel to the fire. I let out a sigh and Chief Behaim seemed to smile further.

 “I think I’m done here,” said Chief Behaim. He glanced at his watch and I heard it click. I started moving my bugs to swarm him while bugs bit his hand. The man hissed as the watch fell out of his hand and my fliers reached him, going for the eyes. The watch didn’t even reach the ground, jumping back into his grasp.  There was a  _click_ and everything jumped,  the image not quite connecting to what it’d been.

I no longer had bugs in Chief Behaim’s office, people had suddenly moved and the bugs outside no longer felt the warmth of the sun. He’d used his time magic and pushed us forward in time.

The bugs that were in walls had stayed, but all the bugs out in the open had moved. I no longer had bugs in Molly’s room too, and I quickly worked to put them back.

I felt as Molly looked at me with her powers and I looked back.

“What’s going on?” she said, her voice dry, tears in her eyes.

“It’s night,” I said. “We were pushed forward in time.”

Molly let out a long breath, nodding. “That seems about how things would go,” she said.

“I’ll protect you,” I said.

She was about to speak when the door to her room opened. I hadn’t had bugs on this officer. I was lucky I hadn’t yet put bugs in Molly’s interrogation room.

“Molly Walker. Your mother’s here to take you home.”

“What about Taylor?” she said.

“We’re going to hold her until we’ve confirmed she’s allowed to be here,” the man said. “Follow me.”

I watched as Molly left the room and went to her mother. The woman hugged Molly, but there was discomfort there on Molly's part, not too comfortable in the hug. She quickly pulled out of it.

“Bathroom?” she said. The officer sighed and pointed. “No. I’d like to be alone,” Molly said to her mother.

She moved and found a stall. “They’re going to banish you,” she said. “They’re going to attack you and banish you. It’s why they’re separating us.”

“I guessed as much,” I commented. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll survive.”

She sighed. “Skitter, if you die…”

“You won’t summon me back?” I said and my voice caught. My bugs were getting in formation. I’d found five sets of keys that weren’t being looked at and my bugs were pulling them into the walls, moving them towards the room I was in.

“I don’t think I’d be able to,” she said. “They know your name, enough points of reference that for sure they’ll be prepared to summon you the moment you fall into the Abyss.”

“I didn’t miss that you didn’t answer the question,” I said. She didn’t say anything. I let out a long breath. “You’re making it really hard to like you, Molly.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. She stopped looking in my direction and I lost the image of her, only able to keep track because of the bugs. She went to her mother and they talked a little before they went to her mother’s car. They drove off.

More bugs and more preparations, waiting for anything that put me more on edge. Fifteen minutes passed when I felt a police officer moving my chains into a bag, another starting to move in my direction. The door opened.

“We’re letting you out,” he said.

“My stuff.”

“On its way,” he said. “We won’t hold you the night because it’s too much of a hassle. But if you run, you’ll be getting your friend Molly Walker in trouble.”

I didn’t say anything, only following the man as he lead me towards the exit. A bag with my chains and costume was already waiting for me. The pair watched me as I walked outside, into the cold night, where something as big as a person, feathered and with sharp talons, was waiting on the roof. Waiting until the cops weren’t looking in my direction.

I waited until I had bugs on them, spiders nestled in sharp feathers and in the plumage on their head, near the eyes. I layered bugs on the ground and pulled from my reserves, conjuring spiders that clung to me.

I started walking forward, paying attention as I was stalked, moving bugs from the station and layering them in the darkness. The police hadn’t searched me, which meant I still had my knives on me. I pulled out the metal knife, hiding it as I entered an alley that hid me from view of the police station. I felt as the Other flew, moving and then diving down. I quickly reached at my side and pulled out my jaw, ready as the Other landed.

It was about as tall as I was, no arms but brightly coloured wings, the torso of a person but the legs of a bird and the head human save for a beak mouth.

“Skitter?” the Other said. Bugs were on the walls, a shifting mass that was just waiting to drop.

“Yes,” I said.

Waiting for the opportunity to attack.

“Master Walker sent me,” the Other said. “She said I’m to help you as we go back to the house.”

I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding in. I nodded.

“Watch the surroundings,” I said. “I need to get dressed."


	11. Chapter 11

**Counsel**

**2.04**

“Molly summoned you?” I said. My costume was largely on, but there were set-pieces that needed to be put in place: My knives were under my costume, easily accessible; two coils of chains were looped around my chest, tight, yet loose enough that I could quickly unravel them; and the Goblin chain I was winding around my left arm.

“Yes,” the Other said, the words mangled by his strong accent. “And I was not the first.” I stopped my work with the chain, looking at the Other. “There was another, a girl from the Abyss, though a different part from her…garb.”

Molly thought she was going to attacked and she was summoning an army. It couldn’t have been safe, especially when she’d had to summon two Others in the short span of fifteen minutes, but…

She was helping, even after phrasing things like she wouldn’t. Was there more I was missing? Had Molly been afraid that she was being watched before? Did this mean she trusted me now?

Thinking on it and I couldn’t buy it. Chief Behaim’s offer flickered through my mind and I found that I was still tempted, that the option of having time on my side was starting to nag at me even if I knew that it was  _wrong._ Molly would be looking at all this from the outside. She would be noting that I stood to gain a lot if I accepted the offer. Trust wouldn’t be easy.

But she was helping me, she was trying to build the bridge even if the foundation was still shoddy.

“What were her orders?” I said, looking at the Other, at the  _Bogeyman_ and finding my stomach twisting. He was far from looking human, but…he was like me in a respect. Molly had summoned him to be  _used,_ summoned him when he could be…

My mind stopped, because the thought couldn’t continue.

All of it was a lose-lose situation. Either Molly wouldn’t have summoned the Bogeyman and it would have stayed in hell, being  _hunted,_ or it would be here, a slave that was sent out to fight another person’s fight.

I let out a long sigh.

“She pointed the way and told me to help you make it to the house,” the Other said. “She said I was to return with you or if you were dead or bound. I’m to follow your… _lead.”_

“Okay,” I said, through my bugs because I was afraid my voice might cut short. It would be hypocritical, wouldn’t it? If I just used this Other while when I’d been pissed when Molly had done the same to me. Maybe he was a monster, a ruthless killer, but nothing about him showed me that. If I convinced myself that he was without proof, then it would be to soothe my own conscience.

But I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to open myself up to the possibility that I might either go back to hell or I might be summoned by the wrong person and be forced to go and kill Molly.

What had Grue said so long ago and how had it made me feel?

We’d just found out about Dinah and I’d been arguing against just going along. He’d said:  _People are suffering everywhere and we ignore that. We keep reducing it until we only care about our family, our friends and maybe our towns._

I’d been disgusted. I’d been disgusted at myself when I’d been forced to make a similar choice while fighting the Nine. But now…it just seemed closer because I wasn’t doing it for the benefit of others, but my own.

_But I don’t want to die._

“A connection,” said the Bird Bogeyman. “It hasn’t fully formed but it’s  _reaching._ People are looking in our direction.”

“Let’s move,” I said and I started walking. He did the same, but he looked uncomfortable. “I’m going to put bugs on you. We’ll be able to talk that way. You’ll scout as you can, sticking to the shadows.”

He nodded and stood still as bugs climbed onto him, moving between coarse feathers. When I gave him a nod, he flapped his wings once and soared into the sky, landing on the edge of the roof of the neighbouring building.

 _Focus, Taylor,_ I thought as I started moving, paying attention to my bugs and the people they were on. I had a map of a three block range and I still had a map of the police station, how people were lazily moving inside. I collected the bugs there, but some I sent in the direction of the Police Chief’s office.

He wasn’t there, but I felt a few dead bugs in a bin in the room, with some stray bits still on the floor. He’d hastily swept up the aftermath of an attack, most likely he’d sent me forward in time but the same hadn’t been true for my bugs. They’d continued their attack even without me given conscious command.

I smiled at that, even if I hadn’t had the satisfaction of watching my bugs as they bit the smug bastard.

“If you’re going to the house,” said the Bird Bogeyman. “We’re going the wrong way.”

I was still distracted, doing too many things and focusing on things that weren’t important. I had to stop doing that. A breath and I pushed everything back. I had to get back to the house, but that would be the obvious move. They would have magic or Others barring my path, making it harder, which meant I had to play things another way.

“No,” I said. “I need you to find me Others, preferably Goblins and bring them back. A minute or less, if you don’t find any, come back.”

Goblins were safe. I could work with them.

The Bird Bogeyman flew further into the air and I peripherally focused on him while I continued my work. Bugs were spreading out and getting a feel of the terrain. I was tracking all of the people in my terrain, all of the birds and all of the rats because I couldn’t discount that they were magically controlled.

Rats and birds that got too close to us, I had bugs in their bodies start to bite them and push them off. Enough times and they got the message.

The Bird Bogeyman didn’t even ask, he flew off, moving much faster than I could. It wasn’t long before he was out of my range.

I felt someone looking and I looked back, clouding my surroundings with bugs in the same instance. Molly appeared and she was standing in front of the house, looking down at a few toddler sized Goblins and the Wendigo. Beside Molly stood a girl that was ten, maybe eleven, dirtied blonde hair in curls and wearing a neat, yet blood-crusted school uniform.

“Chin up,” said Molly. “That’s what you would say, right?”

“They’re attacking you?” I said. I noticed I’d stopped, instead focusing on the connection between us.

“They’re going back to what they were doing before,” said Molly. “I think they know that you’re unlikely to come back, so they’re coming back to torment me. I want to do something stupid.”

“You want to go on the attack?”

She nodded.

“Then I’ll help you. What do you need from me?”

“Advice,” she said. The Goblins were chatting, their voices high and I could see that they were egging each other on. “Laird Behaim messed up my ritual. He thrust us forward in time and we missed the afternoon and six o’clock iterations of the ritual. I’ve looked and a majority of the wind spirits that were protecting the property are gone.”

“Fuck,” I said.

She nodded. A Goblin was pushed and it started forward, running towards Molly who stood just outside the door. Her child Bogeyman strode, throwing a large knife towards the Goblin. The Goblin dodged but School Girl pulled and the knife swung, slicing at the Goblin, forcing it to stop. The School Girl pulled again and the knife jumped back towards Molly and her Bogeyman.

“Rituals are hard to restart,” Molly continued. There was a hollow edge to her voice. She still looked scared, but it was more a resigned sort of fear than—

I felt something move, changing direction too quickly towards me. I felt it out and it was human shaped, moving quickly so it would meet me when I was turning out of the alley. I started moving more bugs in the direction while pulling those around me towards the walls, hiding them in the shadows.

Even so, I was prepared to go on the attack.

“The spirits are less likely to trust me because from their perspective, I flaked,” she said. “I don’t know if they knew this or not, but this is the end result.”

“What are you thinking of doing?” I asked.

“Remember our conversation? Before all this happened?”

I nodded. We’d been talking about the elements and how they snuffed each other out, enhancing each other in other avenues. I could guess the direction of her thoughts. She had wind spirits that were abandoning her, but she might be able use them to empower a fire spirit.

“There’s a risk to that,” I said, remembering that she lived in a wooden house, that there was likely a demon in the house.

“Yes,” she said. “But…I can’t keep doing this. If the worst happens, I can’t go back to the sleepless nights. I’m desperate and the more desperate I get…”

“I get it,” I said. Desperate enough and even the nuclear option might get enticing. “Protections? Make sure that the house…”

“I used my time summoning Marie and Longclaw,” she said. “I didn’t have time to think about—” The figure appeared in the alley, a woman and she had something in her hand. She threw and flying bugs carrying threads of silk flew towards the projectile, catching it and sending it back to the sender.

The woman scrambled back,  _running_ from the projectile. She threw herself just as there was a flash of light and fire lit the air, spreading out and taking out a large collection of my bugs.

The explosion was loud enough that I could hear nothing but a ringing in my ears, bright enough that I couldn’t see anything. But that wasn’t a problem. I could still see and hear through my bugs. I could sense as the woman shook her head, getting to her feet and starting to run away.

“—protections,” said Molly. “That’ll be a witch hunter. It fits what Grandmother had in her notes.”

“Witch hunters?”

“Normal humans that hunt the things that go bump in the night,” she said. “They work for the Council, taking out unstable elements or people that don’t play by the rules.”

“Anything more you can give me,” I said. I held back saying since she seemed willing to offer information now.

“Not much,” she said. “Grandmother wasn’t worried about them which means she didn’t say anything in particular. She paid more attention to Others than people.”

Not magic, but then had magical items. The bomb had seemed tinker made going by effect, taking out more of my bugs than it should have been able to.

“But she said that they shouldn’t be underestimated. Especially Andy,” said Molly.

“How many are there?”

“Two,” said Molly. “Andy and Eva. Brother and sister.”

I nodded. The woman was still running, seeming desperate. The impulse was to chase her, send a message, but that might just be falling into a trap. By chasing her, I was moving in a path that they could predict. They’d capitalise on that.

I went out of the alley and turned in the opposite direction she was running. She ran for half a block before she stopped, looking back and pulling out a phone.

“She’s not following,” she said. “Yeah. Good idea.” She put away the phone and left, moving at a light jog.

In their position, I’d work to head off the enemy, which meant they’d likely be in wait in front of the Thorburn House. I had to attack in another direction, but I’d been planning to since the start of this, which was why I’d wanted Goblins.

But while I was here, there was something else I could do.

“Molly,” I said. “Give me permission to go after Chief Behaim for you. He unjustly held you, meaning you couldn’t do work you were supposed to do.”

Molly stood a little taller, taking a breath and said, “Laird Behaim declared himself an enemy today. He unjustly held me against my will, forced me to waste hours of my day when I could have been nurturing relationships. For this, I ask the spirits to aid me as I ask for recompense, aid Skitter as she serves as my  _champion.”_

There was no great magical sound, nothing I felt that I was moving in the right direction. But I hadn’t expected much. The Revenant had said theatrics mattered with the spirits always watching. Molly’s words might help me, maybe a little boost in Karma so things went my way. Even if that wasn’t true, though, I was doing this to put things at balance, meaning I could attack Chief Behaim without having to worry about my own Karma.

I found the match box in the walls and started moving to the Chief’s office. I had spiders starting to build a web with salt above where I knew the clock was and then had it sail down. The Ghost appeared but it just as quickly flickered out as the salted silk fell over it. I poured more bugs into the room, having them connect threads of silk to the Ghost infused clock and starting to pull.

“Balance,” I said. “Laird ruined Molly’s connection with her wind spirits, made them desert her. I do the same to him, righting the scales.”

Flying bugs took off into the air, pulling the clock. The clock fell and shattered and the Ghost appeared. It only stood in place, looking around. I had bugs in the walls come out, clustering together. The Ghost looked in the direction.

“Go after Laird Behaim,” I said. “He was the one who bound you into that clock.”

The Ghost took a step and the flickered, disappearing. I didn’t know if it had worked or not, but it wasn’t worth my attention. The bugs with the matches arrived and they started trying to light the thing.

“The stations is an extension of Chief Behaim,” I said. “They follow him, sometimes without question. His rot is their rot. His sins their sins.”

I lit the match under the sprinklers and they activated all around the building. It would ruin important papers, make Chief Behaim’s day a little worse, but I thought that it was  _just._

I’d attacked Chief Behaim in a capacity. Not what I liked, but it was a statement, that even when I was being hunted I could gain  _an_ upper hand. I would have liked nothing more than to be able to go after Chief Behaim directly, attacking him and force him to stop the hunters, but that might be falling into a trap. I didn’t know enough about time magic and it was very likely that he might loop back time, getting the advantage of knowing what I’d do and preparing in advance.

Couldn’t fight him, which meant going back to the house, but this time with a veritable army.

“Witch hunters are going to try and head me off,” I said. “I’ll take a little longer until I get there.”

“Metal,” she said and I frowned at the non-sequitur. “Chinese elements are fire, earth, metal, water and wood. I’d have used the metal in the binding, it wouldn’t have interfered as much.” She sighed. “It’s a pity I won’t be able to do this properly.”

Molly stepped forward, Marie following just behind her. The Goblin Marie had slashed with the knife scrambled back, but the others were moving forward, moving to flank her. The Wendigo only watched.

“Leave!” she said. “Or you will face my ire!”

There was a moment’s silence, the Goblins stopping, before there was laughter. The Wendigo stood straighter, looking around, on the ground and in the air. It wasn’t planning to leave, Molly didn’t have my clout and it was showing.

“So be it,” she muttered. She held out a hand and the Bogeyman handed over its knife. Molly looked at it for a moment before she closed her eyes and sliced. The small moment of weakness was enough for a Goblin to dart forward, Marie reached under her dress, puling out a long needle and threw it in the same instance. The needle hit the Goblin in the eye and the thing screamed, pulling to a stop.

“Come! Wind!” Molly said, blood dropping onto the ground It wasn’t anything powerful, but it was enough that Molly and Marie’s hair moved. “Take the power I offer!”

The wind got stronger, her and Marie’s hair moved with more fervour. Molly dropped the knife which Marie caught without trouble. Molly reached to her side and pulled out a lighter. The thing flicked on.

“Come alive and eat, fire! Bringer of change!”

The fire got stronger, flaring into a large form and then congealing into a lizard.

“Being of passion! Of anger and destruction!” I could hear her own anger in the words. “Take this power I give and destroy the enemies that stand before me!’

The lizard dropped into the ground and the darted forward, moving too fast and growing bigger. The Goblins moved back, but the Goblin with a needle sticking of its eyes moved too slow. The lizard slammed into the Goblin, flaring brighter as it engulfed it. The thing screamed, moving pell-mell, trying to put the fire out to no avail.

The fire only flared bright, covering it. I felt as the image I had on Molly started to fray, as though it wasn’t getting enough power and it was darkening around the edges.

“Are you going to be okay, Molly?” I said.

“I think so,” she said. She faltered a little, using Marie to hold herself up. The girl didn’t even pay attention to the falter, only looking forward towards the remaining Goblins, to the greater threat that was the Wendigo.

“I’ll have a chain sent to you soon,” I said.

“That would be nice,” she said.

“Staunch that bleeding. I don’t need you dying on me,” I said.

She moved a little slower, pulling at her clothes to make a bandage. Marie used her knife a cut a portion of the clothes loose, giving it to Molly. She smiled, thanked the girl and worked to staunch the bleeding.

As the image flickered out, I saw the Goblin stop moving and the fire, now a salamander, scrambling forward towards another Goblin.

The image faded.

Longclaw would bring me an Other and they would take the brunt of the attack while I watched, getting a sense of how the witch hunters fought and seeing taking advantage.

I turned my mind towards them, seeing if Eva was still in my range and she’d disappeared while I’d focused on Molly.

It didn’t matter, I knew where they were going. I started undoing the coil around my chest. When Longclaw got back, I’d have him cart the chain over to Molly. A circle to bind a fire spirit that had been growing quickly from the looks of it.

I just had to pick up my pace, make sure that if she needed my help she would have it.


	12. Chapter 12

**Counsel**

**2.05**

Longclaw landed with a wriggling form in his claw, trying to swipe at him to no avail. He flapped his wings, jumping off the thing and the Other got up, lunging at me. I swiped my chain, hitting its head and forcing it down. Spiders and flies descending and biting, burrowing into the nose and ears.

The Other didn’t seem to mind, instead scrambling and coming at me again. I stepped back, bringing up my left arm to block. The Other swiped and screeched, the flesh where it had swiped at the Goblin chain was burning, being eaten by the Goblin saliva. It scrambled back, starting to run.

I took a step, swinging my chain so a loop circled its neck. I pulled it forward, wrenching in so it fell onto its knees. I brandished my left arm.

“Agree to follow my orders for the next three hours and I’ll let you leave.”

The Other swiped and I blocked it with my chain, this time swiping and catching its chest. It screamed, fighting against the chain but I only pulled it tighter. It wasn’t strong enough to escape my hold.

It nodded, speaking in a high-pitched whine.

“This is good,” I said. There were four Goblins around me, the largest of which was half my size, all of them weren’t wearing any clothes, only decorating themselves in wires embedded in their skin.

I unwound the chain. “Go to Molly and help her,” I said, handing over the chain to Longclaw. “When you’re done, come back. Take the chain.”

“I can’t,” said Longclaw and before I could ask why, he flew off, moving in the direction of the Thorburn House.

“Okay,” I said, forming a clone made of bugs. The clone continued to speak while I moved away, “You’ll follow me while  _she_ does something else. Let’s go.”

It started to move and the coterie followed. I started running, moving in a much longer direction but headed towards the house.

The chains would have made things easier for Molly to bind her fire spirit, but Longclaw hadn’t been able to take it, which meant they’d have to find another way, or I’d have to make it there faster. I was hoping I’d be there because Molly had seemed weak when I’d seen her, worse still she had two hastily summoned Others, three if I counted the fire spirit.

My clones and its Others were moving quickly, with the Goblins insulting the clone to no avail. The only quiet Other was the humanoid that looked close to a zombie.

I paid attention to my range. The witch hunters had been leading me to a trap, it wasn’t out of the question that a trap might be laid out in front of the Thorburn House. I needed to see what they could do, which meant I needed to convince them that the bug clone was me.

There were people still out and about, but I couldn’t be sure whether they were human or Other. I tagged them with my bugs, keeping track. I moved bugs in the ground, searching for anything that might be tripwire or disturbed ground or salt which might be signs of a circle.

Not much for two blocks, time I spent gathering bugs, feeling a pit of worry because I didn’t know what was going on with Molly.

I was quickly out of what might be termed as an inner city if this place was bigger and into the suburbs, which made things easier. So far into the night, most people were either sleeping or nestled in their houses. Easier to track the anomalies.

I tagged moving figures with bugs, keeping the swarms light in those parts and seeing if the target noticed. For those who did, I enclosed them in circles made of silk, seeing if it kept them bound, and if it didn’t, moving ahead without picking a fight.

Half a block and I’d spotted at least three Others I couldn’t encircle with silk and only one I could. A small thing, all teeth with scaly skin. Maybe the most minor of Goblins like the things I had in scrunched up paper. I congealed a large enough swarm to speak and I had the thing following the others, headed in a direct path towards the House, following along with a mass of bugs to keep it on track.

Ten minutes and the house dropped into my range. I spread out my bugs, working so I could get an image of the players. There were three Goblins and they were running, trying to leave the property but a large source of heat stopped them, moving fast enough to stop them from leaving, but not enough to grab them. The things were more mobile.

Molly was standing with Marie next to her and Longclaw was on the ground, not moving.

“Focus,” I said to my little army. “There might be trouble incoming.”

Even so I was focusing on all of my range. I was near a patch of forest and I could feel the bugs there. I started pushing and pulling, sending them in different directions. As stealthily as I could, I moved bugs in my direction, others I sent out scouting for the Forest Spirit and the Briar Girl, while I sent more towards Molly, seeing what I could do. Doing all of that and I still had enough mental capacity to have bugs in my immediate range searching for anything that might be able to blindside me.

A large enough cluster of my bugs got close to Molly.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Longclaw isn’t helping.”

Molly jumped a little, but it was a lethargic motion. “He was helping and impeding,” she said. “Longclaw is a forgotten godling, made mostly with wind spirits before belief and the Abyss changed him. He was batting the fire spirit back with one hand, but feeding it, making it bigger.”

“He’s trying to kill you.”

“Indirectly, yes,” said Molly. “I’m sure Marie is waiting for her own opportunity.”

Too calm, not enough emotion, just a fatigue in the words.

“I’ll be there, soon,” I said. “Hang on.”

Molly didn’t say anything, only looking forward in the direction of the fight between the Spirit and the Goblins.

I turned my attention back to everything else. Feeling for anything moving and finding that there wasn’t much in the way of people. Which didn’t make me feel any better. If the Police Chief had sent them, then they might have the ability to get slippery too, which meant I had to search for motion another way. Spiders and flying bugs began laying out silk lines, with minor bugs standing on those lines to feel out for any vibrations.

The technique was relatively new, which meant I had to focus on it while I everything else was in the periphery. A five-block range and I was laying out lines, focusing on the impulses felt by the bugs to feel out any vibrations, having to gather more bugs when I felt something because it could be a person. Mostly it was the wind, which meant I had to pay attention to that, be able to track the difference between vibrations in the webs caused by the wind or something slippery moving in the night.

A scream.

I turned my mind in the direction and I saw that one of the Goblins had stepped onto a bear trap none of them had noticed.

“Eyes out,” I said through the bugs. “Zombie Other, you’ll undo while the Goblins stand in a circle, backs facing the trapped Goblin. Be on the lookout, if you spot something, give me a direction.”

They were scared, one even swore at me, but they were my army, bound to my word and they did as I asked. The Zombie Other took the bear trap and pulled, taking a far longer than any person should have. Maybe he was weak. If he gave off zombie vibes, then it was likely he was a Ghoul which meant he’d been off to feed before Longclaw had caught him. He would be weaker, most likely even the Goblins could take him down if they worked together.

I kept moving, instead turning my mind in another direction, having bugs move through the ground ahead of me, trying to see if the terrain was clear. I’d been doing it before, but not well enough if I’d missed a bear trap. That or there was magic involved.

A web broke, the motion more violent as the bug on the web was thrown about. I moved more bugs in the direction while I turned into a gap between two houses, carrying me away from where a person could possibly be. I clustered my bugs together using their senses and a figure was moving there, quadruped though its limbs seemed to be stalks, it had a fish-like head except hard and jagged, as well as a protrusion that ended in a lamp. Light came from the lamp.

Sent against me or was it looking for its next target? And did it matter? Others fed on people, this guy would be out seemed to kill or harm a person and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I just let that happen.

It was as big as a large dog, made taller because of the stalks it was walking on, and it was wearing what looked like a leathery cloak. Bugs moved towards, trying to find places to hide when I eventually when on the attack but they couldn’t find any. My bugs slipped off of it the same way they’d slipped off of Chief Behaim, except this time my bugs couldn’t stay on with my active direction.

Maybe it was just too much trouble when I was trying to save Molly.

I made the mental note to search the thing out when I was better on my footing, when I could go after it and I wasn’t sacrificing Molly.

_Or sacrificing sanctuary._

I pushed the thought away, focusing on moving forward, scanning for the Witch Hunters. The Ghoul had pulled the Goblin free and they were moving, the Witch Hunters hadn’t gone on the attack, which made me feel paranoid. It made me think that they were looking to attack at another angle and with time magic working on their side, I couldn’t disregard the fact they were playing this knowing the moves I was going to make.

It helped to think that I was being hunted by thinkers first and foremost, which meant I had to obfuscate as much as I could. I began forming clones, spreading them out across my range and having them walk towards the house. They still didn’t know all they could about my ability and that was what I could use to my advantage.

How I could use them was hard, though, when I didn’t entirely know what I was up against.

The bugs I had roving through the ground felt something, the ground had recently been moved and it was too uniform. Maybe magic lines. I had to change direction again, moving so I couldn’t be caught in whatever trap which had been laid in place.

My bugs caught light, not light from a house but something else. I clustered them together, getting an image. Two people on the roof of a house, supplies in a bag, one of them with a scope and looking through it at moments. The girl. The boy was looking down towards what looked like a slab.

A sound escaped him, filled with exasperation. “The things are on the fritz.”

The girl, Eva, looked away from the scope, looking towards her brother.

“All of them are ringing, things moving past but they don’t disturb the traps,” he muttered. “It’s like there’s an army out there.”

“We’ve never gone against a bug spirit like this before,” said Eva. “It’s smart, seems old.”

“But it’s not,” said Andy and he sighed.

“Should have let me fight it. If it’s weak, I could have staked it.”

Andy snorted. “Yeah. Because a stake would have been easier when that thing caught a fucking grenade.” He shook his head. “I think this is a bust. The Practitioners’ll have to give us more if they want us to end this without a mess.”

“Or we could just blow up the house,” said Eva, shrugging. “We know where it lives.” Andy gave his sister a long look. “Joking. Jeez. Lighten up.”

Eva turned, looking through the scope again.

“The fire is getting brighter at Hillsglade,” she said. “Think we’ll have to step in.”

“Hope not,” said Andy. “I hate those things.”

Eva snorted. “No balls,” she said.

“Let’s get out of the cold,” said Andy. “Make the call in the car.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

I started running, moving faster because they were leaving. I didn’t have to worry about being ambushed anymore, at least by them and it would be easier to save Molly. But even so I kept track of them as they moved to their car. I put bugs in there, clustered them so I could hear any conversations.

“…wrong…” I heard and I focused on them again, still running. “Something broke into the car.”

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. How? It tracked us?” said Eva. She dropped the duffel bag and started digging into it. She pulled out a spray can, a lighter on the other hand. I moved bugs in the area and formed a humanoid shape.

“That won’t be necessary,” I said, even as I moved, getting spiders on their person, tracking the people in the houses, paying attention to the drain on my fear reserves and gauging how scared they were.

They weren’t.

“Seems necessary to me,” said Eva. “You being all up in our grill.”

“That tends to happen when you try to kill someone,” I said. “You threw a grenade at me, I think by the rules of this world I’m allowed to do the same.”

I felt a glimmer of something, not quite fear but a wariness. Eva moved and held herself higher, preparing for attack if it was needed; Andy took a half-step back. He wasn’t a fighter, which meant he would have to be my first target.

“You wouldn’t be the first person to use fire against me,” I said. “The last…being I fought with that power could be termed a Greater Fire Spirit or a Lesser God and you wouldn’t be wrong. We fought and I managed to get out of that one well enough.”

Eva snorted. “There’s a lot there you aren’t saying,” she said. “Well enough? That could just mean alive. Could be termed? That’s not a definite. We’ve been dealing with Practitioner bullshit long enough to know when someone’s posturing. You don’t—”

She grunted.

“Spider bite without venom,” I said. “Pain’s on the lesser side, but when there’s venom, it’ll probably hurt more, not to mention the other effects. I already have spiders on you, poised to bite. Get mouthy and this won’t end well for you.”

Eva moved to speak, but she was stopped by her brother.

“What do you want?” said Andy.

“I’ll ask you questions and you’ll answer them. As I understand you can lie, but if I find out that you have, well…I’ll do  _something._ ”

Eva looked like she wanted to speak, most likely to point out that the threat didn’t work so well when I left it open ended. In any other situation it might be scary, leaving it to the imagination of the threatened, but here it showed my fear of being foresworn.

“We answer your questions truthfully and my sister and I come out of this unharmed, you don’t come after us for this,” he said.

“As long as you don’t give me reason to harm you, I won’t,” I said. “I won’t come after you for this, but I will remember it, if you do something else, something similar, this here might be dictate how I handle the next grievance.”

Andy took a breath and slowly let it out. “There’s a lot of wiggle room there,” he said. Chief Behaim had used similar phrasing, showing that this was a tight knit community. I didn’t say anything though, even when it made me like Andy and Eva less and less, instead pushing the Goblins and the Ghoul faster. “Okay,” he said. “We accept the deal as it stands.”

“And I agree to the terms as I understand them,” I said. “Who sent you?”

I passed the last row of houses, which meant I arrived at Hillsglade just a little after my minions. I sent them forward and they acquiesced, though it was a little slower to follow orders, choosing to play keep away while throwing piles of dirt at the spirit. I didn’t send any bugs near; the thing was feeding on everything that it ate and it would only grow bigger with the sustenance of my bugs.

“Laird Behaim,” said Andy. “You hurt his image and he’s pushing back.”

“Tell me more.”

“You sent bugs after him,” he said. “He came out of it without being able to hide the bites, couldn’t use magic to undo them, so he has to wear bug bites until they naturally heal. That’ll decrease his standing on the Council.”

“Tell me about the Council, the covens and how they practice.”

I jumped over the short wall into the property, seeing the fire spirit with my own eyes for the first time. It was larger than a dog, its form having changed from a scalamander and instead reminiscent of a lioness, though it was starting to grow out the mane of a lion. It chased down a Goblin and swiped, but the thing was agile, jumping to the side and then scrambling away. The Goblins at the periphery were throwing clumps of dirt at the thing and it seemed like, even if it wasn't  _hurting_ the spirit, it was annoying it.

“Thorburns, which you’re buddy-buddy with and they’re Diabolists,” he said. “Duchamps, they’re Enchantresses; Behaims are Chronomancers; Johannes dabbles, not holding to one practice; the Crone Mara doesn’t do much, but she’s old, which is its own sort of danger; the Briar Girl deals with a nature spirit which means her practice trends in that direction. Then there’s the Others, the only ones of note are the faeries, Padraic, Keller and Essylt, have to be careful of glamour with them.”

Too easy, getting this information now, but I couldn’t devote all of my focus on it.

“You’re here,” I heard Molly say through the bugs close to her. “I didn’t think you would.” She sounded out of it.

“That’s all,” I said to the witch hunters. “Don’t try to kill me again. If you do, I’ll respond in kind.”

I dispersed the bugs, removing those in the car, but I kept enough near that I could still hear them.

One of the Goblins being chased moved in my direction, stopped at then dodged to the side. I dropped the unwound chain in a line in front of me and stepped back. The fire spirit, even though it was feline, seemed canine in how it acted. It moved forward without reserve, chasing without thinking about how it would stop, how it would have to change direction.

It  _couldn’t_ stop in time and it slammed into the line. It screamed, a pained sound as it was sucked into the chain. It tried to scramble back, fighting to get away but it didn’t work. The chain had symbols on it which kept in heat, above and beyond that metal served counter to fire. I looked toward Molly, who’d sagged in relief. She’d known this would happen, which was why she’d wanted the chains.

It was easy to forget sometimes that behind the scared little girl there was a Practitioner, a person who was learning every day to get smarter, accumulating tricks to use against other beings like me…or me if she ever felt she needed to.

 _Don’t forget the scared little girl,_ a part of me thought.  _Thrust into this world with little chance of survival._

The feelings wouldn’t get me anywhere.

“Will the binding hold?” I asked, feeling out my surroundings through my bugs. I didn’t feel anyone watching, which didn’t necessarily mean that people  _weren’t._

She shook her head. “Heat eventually escapes,” she said, still sounding out of it. “The fire spirit will escape too, given the chance.”

“How long. Do you know?”

She shook her head.

“Get inside,” I said. “You look like you need sleep.”

She nodded and then fell as Marie suddenly shifted from under, moving towards the back of the house. Longclaw did the same, taking off into the sky and the falling to land on a clump dirt, a circle messily carved out. The moment both were in their circles they disappeared, falling inside.

I picked up the chain, hot to the touch but I pushed the pain away. I wound it around myself with the others, feeling as the heat died down, instead sucked up by the other chains. I went to pick Molly up, ushering her into the house.

“How long will this last?” I asked, trying to be as soothing as I could and finding I failed.

“Dunno,” she said. “Never used this much power before.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to walk tomorrow?”

She shrugged. “Why?”

“Because we’re going out again,” I said. “They tried to hit us and they lost. We need to show that to them, rub it in their faces.”

She opened her mouth, trying to speak but words didn’t come out.

“It’s hard at first,” I said. “But eventually this works.”

She nodded weakly.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Counsel**

**Interlude**

“Categories are bullshit,” said Alister. It was impulse at this point and Ainsley didn’t stop it. She smacked Alister in the arm, stopping the momentum he’d been gathering.  He gave her a smug smirk. He’d expected it, not his craft but because they knew each other better than most of the other cousins.

They were at Danny’s Diner, at the fringes of town which meant a longer distance than most people in Jacob’s Bell were willing to drive for a bite. An advantage for them because it meant less power put into keeping people from coming into the Diner, a lesser chance that the spirits might be angry for losing Danny his customers. The regulars were a problem, but there was another advantage: Danny’s regulars were truckers, which meant he never really had a large crowd, but groups of people flowing in and out, mostly tired and more likely to let things slip.

That and a little magic would do.

“Categories are bullshit,” Alister said again. They were the oldest of the cousins, with only those with  _talent_ having been chosen to attend the meeting.

Craig, because he was a legacy and growing up with Laird as his father meant he’d  _had_ to have a good mind; Tandy, because she was good enough at tarot that Alister was tutoring her; and Gavin, he wasn’t particularly smart, but he served a purpose. Gavin had been raised ‘well,’ which was to say he was raised to believe everything his parents, and by extensions the family, believed. He would serve as a gauge at how the adults would react to anything they pulled.

“We use them because they help us get a ballpark of what we’re working with, but they can hurt as much as they help. So here, right now, we’re losing anything that might be a neat category. No Bogeyman, no Bug Spirit, just stating the facts…as much as we can, anyway.”

“I don’t get why that means everyone else is here,” said Gavin.

“War council,” Tandy answered.

Alister grinned. “You did a reading?”

She nodded. “Pulled three cards, hoping it helped. Hierophant, inverted: Restriction, challenging the status quo; Emperor, inverted: Domination, rigidity, excessive control; and the two of cups, upright: unified love, partnerships, attraction, relationship.”

“Not the Lovers?” said Alister, his tone of disappointment. Tandy shook her head. He let out a long breath. Ainsley ran her mind on the tarot. All of them had a surface knowledge on how to read them, but she wasn’t as good at unfocusing, looking at the abstract, as those of those craft were prone to do.

The Lovers were of the Major Arcana, more weight behind them. The Lovers were similar enough to the two of cups, speaking of unity, but if that card had been drawn, the unity here would stretch longer. Ties that might make things easier in the transition of power when the Lordship was finally decided.

“Reaching a little high there, aren’t you?” Ainsley said. Alister already knew what she meant, but the kids didn’t. “He’s thinking he might do what the adult took an entire wedding to put together. Uniting the Behaims and Duchamps.”

“Not through malevolent means, I’m hoping,” said a Duchamp. All of them turned. A show of power as Penelope walked in with three other girls. Ainsley peered at her connections and she could see their work, how they’d increased interest around each other while causing them to lose peripheral attention on everything else.

“Not entirely,” said Alister, a large smile on him. “Getting the peons on track.”

“Not appreciated,” Craig muttered, but that only earned a smile from Alister.

Penelope, Lea, Charlotte and Chloe all started moving chairs, coming to a seat. They were all proper in a respect, even with how they were bucking against the reigns. Hair kept unkempt, loud eye shadow and visible piercings in an effort to differentiate themselves from the others, especially when they had such similar features.

“I was getting into telling these guys what we’re here for,” he said. “They haven’t been filled in, but I’m sure they’ve sort of figured out why we’re here.”

“Molly Walker and her summons,” said Tandy.

Charlotte shuddered. Chloe moved a little beneath the desk and Ainsley noticed the girl ease a little. She’d heard, it was hard not to when the community was small and it was bound to speak the truth. Charlotte had messed up, picked a fight with Molly and her Bogeyman and she’d lost, in the process pulling everyone else in. She’d come out of it…looking whole, but Laird had lost.

“Taylor Hebert,” said Craig, “or Skitter. Heard Mom and Dad talking about it, going through it and looking back, and he mentioned the names. She seemed to prefer Skitter, but she was Taylor Hebert when she gave her name to the police.”

“Is she bound by the Seal of Solomon?” Lea asked.

“Even if she wasn’t, does it matter?” Ainsley put in. “She has to be using a lot of power from what we’ve heard. Five blocks of bugs?” She shook her head. “I’m thinking she’s bound and has been storing power for a long time.”

Alister shook his head, his left hand moving, cutting his deck and pulling out a card. “New,” he said. He looked up. “Not reading or anything, but Andy mentioned it when we spoke. She talked about the rules of this world like it was novel, but then he says he might be projecting. She was a mass of bugs and reading tone was hard.”

Charlotte shuddered again and none of them mentioned it.

“We should be waiting for the others,” said Penelope. “They’re close. We don’t want to rehash things when then get here.”

Alister nodded and they settled into a sort of silence while Alister called the waitress. He started ordering, doing so for everyone without even asking if that was what they wanted. Ainsley shook her head.

“You’re wasting your power,” she said.

“I am,” he said. “But I can.”

A power play, most likely. Penelope and her group had done the same at their arrival, timing things so they’d get in unnoticed. Going by the type of person Alister was, then he would have timed things so his orders arrived as people arrived.

Ainsley waited and she was right: Andy arrived, with the Briar Girl closely behind her. As they sat down, the food arrived, light and with large drinks so they could eat while they spoke. Briar Girl immediately ate and Ainsley joined the others in frowning because the girl had no manners.

_Such a waste._

“Day after tomorrow there’s a Council Meeting,” said Alister. Timing. He’d chosen the moment Penelope had severed the connection to speak. Penelope had done it most likely to get the first word in, but tricks like that didn’t work against a Chronomancer.

“I’ve done readings,” he continued, “and the message is pretty clear, things will be harder after.”

“There’s going to be a cease fire,” said Penelope. “The Goblin thing in Keno’s starting to reach a head. I’m thinking the adults are afraid that things might start to bleed out in our direction as the mess is being cleaned up. They’ll be shoring up the defences for when the influx of Goblins comes our way.”

“Wait,” said Gavin. “Does this mean we won’t? A war council while the adults are focusing on Keno?”

“That’s what we’re here to decide,” said Alister.

“Ains,” said Gavin. “You can’t agree to this. The Council won’t agree to this.”

Eyes turned in her direction. She didn’t like it. Having spent so long around Alister she’d become used to him sucking up the attention with his antics, with his skill, which let her settle in the background, keeping him from doing something stupid. Right now the dynamic had changed, which left her slightly reeling, having to gather her thoughts.

She took a breath, calming down and making sure that her thoughts came out clearly. She didn’t have the same power that Alister had, the power of a potential leader of the family, but she was still respected, her words meant something.

“Molly is still new to this world,” she started. “She hasn’t learnt the rules of the Practice like all of us have, which means her greatest asset is idle time. If we give that to her, it means we’ll be going against a smarter person in the future, perhaps even smart enough that they’ll be able to ‘safely’ handle what their family usually practises in.”

Demons, the worst of Others. She’d hit the right buttons because she could see the horror on all of them, even if it was better hidden in the Duchamps.

“Not acting isn’t something we can comfortably do,” Alister continued, picking up where Ainsley had stopped. “We can’t because  _we’re_ the ones who’ll be dealing with them in the future. We’re the ones who are going have to worry about Thorburn babies and one of them stupid enough that they leave this town in ruin.”

An appeal to terror. Manipulation of the basest form. It hadn’t been intentional when she’d done it, she was sure, but she couldn’t help but thing that it wasn’t the same for Alister. But that was the trouble with dealing with someone who prized themselves on interpreting the future. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, she could see, the Duchamps and Andy, but they wouldn’t say anything. The kids agreeing made it easier to move forward, the idea would have traction and it would be too much of a hassle for the adults to stop.

Gavin let out a shaky breath.

“It would be better if we banished her Bogeyman before tomorrow,” said Lea. “Molly Walker wasn’t dealing well with the terror tactics of the Goblins, she even slipped at one point, letting one in. This is her security, if we took it away…”

“Unlikely to happen,” said Andy. “Eva talked—” Craig snorted “—to some Others and they say she’s been working a lot since she appeared. Anything minor enough to be countered by something natural and she can catch it.”

Briar Girl’s familiar moved, disturbing the girl who’d been eating her food, not paying much attention to how thing were going. The girl sighed, letting go of her burger and, through a mouthful, saying, “She was smart enough to handle a Goblin that has a taste for Bug Spirits. She has fighting experience, experience with her talents.”

“And yet all readings say she’s new,” said Alister. He’d cut a deck, pulling out a card. Death, upright: Endings, beginning, transformations, transitions.

“I’ve heard this conversation before,” said Andy, “from your parents. It doesn’t go anywhere. She’s a Bug Spirit, nothing can control them like she does which isn’t a bug spirit. No, she’s a Bogeyman, she smells of it. She’s too lucid to be a feral spirit—”

The rabbit familiar let out a wolf-like growl.

“No offence,” said Andy. “I’m paraphrasing what I heard. I came here because you said this would be different, a new set of eyes, less stifled by tradition.” He looked at Alister as he said this.

“All of which is true,” said Alister. “Different people, which by definition makes it different. New set of eyes because of the former. Less stifled by tradition because…well, that would be telling,” he said, smirking like the cat who’d caught the canary.

Andy sighed. “Eva said this would be a waste of time,” he muttered. “Please don’t make her right or she’ll be a pain to deal with.”

“I was saying to the peons before you got here,” said Alister. “Categories are bullshit. Blah, blah, blah, let’s look at what she can do and then think about dealing with that. Look at it at all the angles we can get with our accumulated power. I could start things off with a reading, get a sense of who she is, maybe how she’ll act.”

No one answered. Alister started shuffling his cards, being showy as he did it. He pulled out the first card.

“Hermit, reversed,” he said. “Major Arcana means weight in either past or future. Isolation, loneliness and withdrawal. Feeling things out and it’s the former three. I’m reading this with an accumulated sort of knowledge so bear with me. It goes back to the Death card, the transition. She’s just changed and she’s in a state where everything she knows is gone.”

“Looking for a connection,” said Chloe. “It could be why she’s attached to Molly. When things are without connection, the world seeks balance and the first one that managed to catch is stronger, less likely to break.”

Charlotte shook her head. “Mistrust on both sides,” she said. “I saw it and I built it up. There’s a connection there, but…it’s unhealthy. Based on survival than anything else, on both directions.”

“The Magician, upright. Power, skill, resourcefulness and there’s a reverberation on all of those three facets of meaning. It goes back to what people are always talking about, she’s too powerful, too resourceful, too skilled to be new. And yet…” Alister took a breath. “I get why there’d be arguing over her. Third and final: Judgement, reversed: Self-doubt, refusal of self-examination.” Alister shook his head. “That one’s pretty self-explanatory.”

Another shake of the head from Charlotte. “I didn’t get that from her,” she said.

“Me neither,” said Andy. “She knew what she was doing, like it was fully considered. I don’t see self-doubt.”

“Could be hiding it,” said Tandy.

“Which makes her more human and goes back to the whole being new thing,” said Penelope. “If she’s too human, then she can’t have been a bug spirit. Or maybe she was possessed, but that’s not how it works. More often, the spirit takes over, there isn’t this much cooperation.”

“Or maybe a warped familiar relationship?” said Craig. He couldn’t help shooting a glance at the Briar Girl. The rabbit noticed, it vibrated, growing bigger, more muscle and  _glaring._ Briar Girl continued eating. All of them waited, but the Briar Girl fastidiously ignored them.

It would have been good perspective.

“You’re getting bogged down again,” said Andy.

“Capabilities,” said Alister. “Audrey?”

Audrey nodded. “She controls bugs. She can talk and see through them, and…she can focus on them all at once? I looked at the mess of webs, trying to see if she was paying less attention when she was talking, but she wasn’t. I think she was getting information from all of them and taking it all in.”

“Might not mean anything to the Duchamps,” said Briar Girl. “But she can use them to hide too. When I first tracked her, I got lost. The bugs are connected to her, but they’re also connected to each other. Hard to parse which direction  _she’s_ in.”

“Did you notice that?” said Penelope.

Chloe shook her head. “It was easier because I had a lot of reference points. But I mostly use Molly to get at her."

“It’s something we’ll have to make note off. See if it’ll trip us up like it did the Briar Girl,” she said.

“I know more about how she fights,” said the Briar Girl. “I’m wondering the price you’ll pay to find out.”

“The price is that we help you the next time you do something stupid,” said Lea. “You’ve been seen more than once dragging those bodies of yours. It could get a lot harder for you if we put in word that you made things harder here.”

Briar Girl hummed. “Knives on strings of silk,” she said. “She hides them in bugs and swings them around. She makes trip lines of silk, makes more silk to bind the opponent. Large enough silk and even the strongest are caught and her silk is strong.”

“That might work better on durable Others than people,” said Andy. “She threatened Eva with a spider bite. I’m thinking if you fought, she could just do that to end you.”

The rabbit chattered. “She goes for the eyes, ears, mouth and nose first,” Briar Girl said.

Craig was frowning, but didn’t say anything. Ainsley hadn’t seen Laird yet since he’d been bitten by the bugs, but if that was her modus operandi, then how did he look?

“Not mentioning the whole range thing,” Andy continued. “Five blocks she can act. Five blocks worth of bugs she can gather. If you’re going to go after her, then it has to be a non-standard attack strategy.”

“Fire spirit?” said Craig.

“She said she fought what could be termed as a lesser fire god or a greater fire spirit,” said Andy. “Likely a bluff.”

“Let’s err on the side of caution,” said Ainsley.

“Bird spirit?” said Gavin.

“Where would we even find one?” said Craig. “Any of the ones powerful enough to still be around are linked to Aboriginal communities. I feel like if we did that, it would be begging the Crone to murder us in our sleep.”

“Yeah,” said Alister. “I’ve heard she does thing to nubile young men.”

“Gross,” Tandy muttered.

“Which part of the Abyss is she from,” said Penelope. “Do you know?”

“The Forest,” the Briar Girl answered absently.

“And you have a Forest Spirit,” said Lea. “You couldn’t—”

“No.” A rebuke for the threat. Not matter what was said, it was unlikely that they’d get the Briar Girl to change her mind. “She’s a neighbour and she could be a pain if she wanted. I’m not going to help you for nothing.”

“Forest,” said Andy. “My sister mentioned staking her. She was right, it could work towards killing her. We have an old stake, centuries old.”

“Obvious problem of actually reaching her, standing at the centre of a mass of bugs. Unless we did away with the connections. You could fudge them,” said Alister.

“We’ll see if we…” she stopped, reaching for her phone. “Molly and Skitter are out, they were spotted having coffee.”

“I feel like they’re rubbing their victory in our faces at this point,” said Chloe.

“They are,” said Alister, a card pulled from his deck. Three of pentacles, minor arcana: teamwork, initial fulfilment, collaboration and learning. “It’s also a training exercise?”

“In which direction?” Ainsley asked.

Alister shrugged. “Have a feeling it might be both.”

Ainsley couldn’t decide which was scarier. An Other learning from a Diabolist, or a Diabolist learning from an Other driven by anger and the need to cause fear to survive.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Affirmed**

**3.01**

Three sets of chains curled one around the other at the epicentre of the ‘circle’. We’d crafted the thing with representations of earth and metal: Chicken wire wrapped around nails and pounded into the ground to give the diagram shape. A diamond and square, overlapping and bordered by a circle of salt.

“Out,” I ordered. The fire spirit jumped out. A lion, small and lithe. It jumped out with vigour, pouncing and then smashing against chicken wire borders. The spirit momentarily lost its form, breaking apart into a large ball before coalescing into a lion.

It roared at us.

“Spirit,” said Molly. “I am the one who created you and I bid you to cease.” The spirit scowled before it roared. Molly shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

“Shut up and  _sit,_ ” I said. The fire spirit gave me a long look, continuing to prowl, its tail flicking up when it’s back was to me. My fear crafted bugs took to the air, carrying chicken wire. “Shut up and sit or I’m going to either squeeze you against the borders of the circle, or back into those chains.”

The spirit bared its teeth before it sat, its front paws crossing as it glowered.

“Good,” I said. “I’m going to bind you into a gun. Serve me well, stay in the gun and don’t let off any magical radiation, don’t cause problems and I’ll treat you well. I’ll take you out at times, giving you form and food. Do you agree to this?”

The spirit gave me a long look, so long I thought it might disagree and we’d have to go through the extra step of carving a binding engraving into the gun. The engraving, Molly said, was better because it we wouldn't be relying on the whims of the bound Other, but it had to be perfect or there’d be the chance of radiation. Bad when what we were dealing with was fire. This was good on the whole, even if the acceptance was begrudging.

Finally, the spirit shrugged. 

I pulled the hunting rifle from my back and tossed it into the circle. The spirit gave the gun a long look, looking at me before with jumped into it with a huff. Molly let out a relieved breath.

“Another one that’s mine,” said I said to her. I had bugs go into the circle and land on the gun, feeling if it was hotter than it should be. It wasn’t and I gave Molly a nod. We started undoing the magical circle.

“You’re technically mine, aren’t you?” she said. “On my side, at least?”

I swallowed, feeling a pit in my stomach. “Chief Behaim was able to play us against each other,” I said and frowned. “Or at least, direct things so that there was suspicion there. This gives you security.”

“I know that,” said Molly, her voice slightly shaky. “I’m just worried, with my karma, that…”

“You’ll get something like me again?”

She shrugged. “Sorry.”

“I don’t think it’s an insult,” I said with a shrug. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, taking my rifle and feeling its weight. I’d have to practice with it. My power meant I had better aim and I was stronger so there wasn’t worry about recoil, but there was the fire spirit in there and I wasn’t sure what its effect would be.

“I think,” I said and I took another breath, “that you were trying to survive and…I’m learning more and more the sort of stuff I would do for my own survival. I think, here, you were in the right, especially with what I know about this world.”

Molly shook her head. “Why are you telling me this?”

“It’s an indirect way of saying you can summon other Bogeymen without worry that you’ll make this harder,” I said, gesturing between us. “Before, I sort of condemned you for bringing me into all of this, but in a similar situation I would do the same thing. I  _have_ been doing the same thing with all the Others that I’ve been conscripting.”

“O…okay,” she said, with a nod. More to herself than to me. “Be right back.”

I kept track of her as she moved upstairs and into her library, disappearing from my view. My mind flickered to all the things she could be doing in there, maybe even working against me, and I pushed it back. Molly and I were on good ground, she was more comfortable in her strength but it wasn’t yet to the point that she could comfortably work against me.

But she also wasn’t working  _for_ me. Since coming here, I’d been dealing with figuring things out and  _her_ problems.

Another thought that I pushed back because, though it was true, it wouldn’t help me in any way. Molly couldn’t work for me because she was still learning the rules of this world just as I was, learning to protect herself from impending death or doom. I couldn’t fault her for putting her own interest as a priority.

Even so, I still needed to get back to Earth Bet. I had to make sure that I was still working with the end of the world in mind, Jack Slash’s eventual return and my role in it. I was still working with the hypothesis that Dinah had foreseen this, which meant…what? Did I try and get as much power as I could here and bring it back to Earth Bet, or was it getting allies?

I couldn’t really see the latter happening with me at the helm, so I had to bet on the former. Getting as much power as I could while trying to get back home. Hard to even consider when I had absolutely no idea  _how_ I was going to home.

“At least you have two years,” I muttered under my breath.

I was still learning and I didn’t know the limits of what this world could bring to bear. I had to be patient, not mess up and really die, and then get back home. It was only a matter of time before I figured things out enough that I could go home.

Molly came out of the house with a homemade book and a fire poker. When she was close I saw that it was titled  _Secrets of the Abyss._ She handed me the book when she was close enough and I looked at her with a raised brow.

“I haven’t pulled out any pages,” she said. “I haven’t filtered the knowledge in there.”

I opened it and on the table of contents I saw that it was sections with parts of the Abyss. The Forest; the Tenements; the Infirmaries; the Freight Yard; the Barge; the Mountain Pass; the Warehouse; and the Academy. I flipped through the page references, getting the gist of the places and there wasn’t much save descriptions of the Bogeyman that could be pulled from those realms.

“I’m thinking,” said Molly. “That we keep this relationship working for both of us.”

“I’m listening,” I said, while still scanning through descriptions: Amphibian Bogeymen mainly came from the Barge, with some intersection between it and creatures from the Freight Yard and another place comprised mainly of water Bogeymen.

“I get Bogeymen to fight for me and you looking over if I’m doing things right,” she said. “But I also help you out some. I…don’t really believe that you’re from another world, but you seem to and it’s tied to the Abyss. I was thinking that you can maybe question the Others we summon, get a lay of the land and understand if there are any paths that might help you back to your world.”

Very clearly manipulation. But then,  _everything_ was manipulation. What mattered was that she was helping me.

“Sounds like a good deal,” I said.

“I’m hoping it is,” she said. “We’ll start with the Forest? It’s where you’re from and I know the Bogeyman I’m going to summon so it makes things easier?”

I nodded and we started.

888

“Longclaw,” said Molly. We were standing in front of a series of five circles, drawn into the ground with the fire poker, inlaid with salt and a few drops of blood. “Greater protector of a now lost tribe. You were forgotten and claimed, warped into something  _other,_ but now I call you, harking back to your roots. I call you to be my protector, to once more sup from the essence which has slowly been taken by the Abyss.”

The circle in front of darkened, lights appearing but dim. I saw eyes, could feel bugs moving away as a form surged up. Longclaw and for the first time I saw what once had been. His wings where brightly coloured, but they seemed odd because they were the only place that was so, other places were filled with mud and dirt and broken branches, the influence of the Abyss.

“Master Walker,” Longclaw said, still that strong accent. “Hello again, Bug Spirit.”

“I prefer Skitter,” I said.

He inclined his head. “As you wish,” he said. “You called. I would have thought after the last time…”

Molly shrugged. “It’s the cost of doing business, isn’t it?” she said. “Your direct path to freedom is killing me. You’re incentivised to do so.”

“And you were weak, off kilter,” he said. “You are still so, but there’s something different. The bond between the two of you has changed and it’s giving you a measure of strength. But there’s doubt, there, I see it. And now that Skitter knows of that doubt…”

“Playing us against each other doesn’t help you,” I said.

“It does,” said Longclaw. “It gives me an opening.” It felt like a punch to the face and all at once everything was tinged a little darker. I had a bit of fear to tide me over, but the ‘lie’ had sapped into those reserves.

“I should rephrase,” I said, pushing away that it was so easy to lose my power. “Right now, playing us against each other hurts more than it helps. Every time you go back there you lose a part of yourself, you’re better off if you’re here and Molly is offering that to you.”

Longclaw looked in her direction.

Molly took a breath. “I’m offering priority summoning,” she said. “Bogeymen, if they die, are sent back to the Abyss.”

“I know this,” said Longclaw.

“But it’s harder to get out naturally,” she said. “Which makes it more likely that the next time you’re out in this world, you’re being summoned by a Practitioner. I can make it so that I’m the Practitioner who summons you.”

“Practitioners are mostly the same,” he said. “All of  _you_ are. You take what doesn’t belong to you, lying to yourselves that it’s for the betterment of others. Civilising them when they’re barbaric, when it’s all about power.”

“I won’t lie and say that’s not true,” said Molly. “I won’t lie and say this isn’t about power, because it  _is._ This  _is_ self-serving, putting my safety first, but maybe you can tide things so you get an advantage too? To make sure that you come out of this alive?”

“But I would have to put your best interests first?” he said. “Even when it’s against my being to work with your kind?”

Molly didn’t say anything at that, looking to me for guidance. I couldn’t offer her anything, really couldn’t because this wasn’t my forte. Speaking and convincing others against certain actions wasn’t my thing. Mine was to make sure they never did the wrong thing again through force.

“The choice,” I said slowly, “is simple, I think. You either choose to voluntarily cast away that hate or you wait for the Abyss to take it away as it makes you into what it wants.”

“I am an astral being,” said Longclaw. “I am of ideas, of abstractions and concepts. To cast away that hate, would be to cast away the ideas which brought me into existence, it would be to lose my  _self,_ heavier price than what the Abyss tolls.” He shook his head. “I will not be accepting this deal.”

Molly sighed and then nodded. “I…I’m sorry for having summoned you in the first place,” she said. “To have played a part in the degradation of your  _self._ I promise I won’t summon you again.”

“I thank you,” he said.

“You can go.” The hole reopened and Longclaw dropped back into the Abyss. Molly let out a long breath. “I can’t help but think most of my family would think I’m stupid for closing off a resource like that.”

“A part of  _me_ does,” I said. She gave me a surprised look. “But, I feel, that part is wrong. What you did was objectively good…”

A risk, not ending in I think and…the spirits seemed to agree. I let out a relieved breath. Molly was smiling a little.

“Don’t play them too much,” she said. “They won’t punish you for being right. But they’ll remember how you operate and they’ll be harsh when you’re eventually wrong.”

“Noted,” I said. “The next?”

Molly gave me a nod and said, “Odoletta Pruneau, I call you forth.” It only took the words before her circle darkened. I heard the sound of laughing, a nursery rhyme reverberating and the she stepped through, smiling.

“You called again,” she said, smiling. She fixed her skirt and tried to do the same for her hair. She let out a breath in a huff when dirt from her hands transferred to her hair. She said something in French, likely an oath and then her mouth made ‘o’. “Apologies,” she said. “It’s rude to swear.”

“It’s okay given the situation,” said Molly. “You fought and survived when you were still alive.”

“Yes,” Marie said. “I had to be strong. Be like Mary from the books. We’re the same age you know, when she started.”

“The books?” I asked.

“Bio-punk stuff,” said Molly. “An anthology series based in the same world.”

“The Good Reverend?” I asked.

“One of them,” said Molly. “The most popular and the newest additions. This one is older, when the genre was still mainly horror.”

“How old?” I asked.

“About fifty years,” Molly said. Which meant Marie wasn’t really a child. Well, if I was using normal human growth as a factor. I didn’t know the mechanics of being an Other.

“I like the Tales of the Seductress,” said Marie. “It’s where I first met Mary. She meant a lot, more when everything happened. She was my inspiration.” She smiled a too wide smile. “Why I was happy when I got to go to the Academy.”

“I hope you won’t mind that I’m pulling you away,” said Molly.

Marie shook her head. “This is my mission,” she said. “Protect the fair maiden.”

It felt…incongruous with what I knew. Marie was at least fifty years old, she would know the rules, that if she killed Molly she would get her freedom. Yet…she seemed all in. Was there something I was missing? It was very likely that there was, but  _what?_

“Yes,” said Molly. “This will be a long-term mission. Protect me and my interests. We’ll discuss everything in little steps when we get the others.”

“Long missions are the best kind,” said Marie, her smile a little sharper. Yeah, there was something I was missing and looking at Molly, I was sure she knew it too.

“You can leave the circle,” said Molly. Marie skipped out of the circle, coming to stand beside Molly. She had her eyes on me, still smiling.

“Try anything and I won’t hesitate to kill you,” I said. Marie only smiled wider.

“I don’t like this one,” said Molly. “Marie, you’ll have to watch out for him.”

“I’m made of tough stuff,” she said.

“I call forth, the Great Entertainer,” she said.  _“Chuckles.”_

It started, a sharp wheezy giggling as darkness took the circle. It was a  _show_ how he came out. First one hand, grabbing the edges of the hole, then another, this one carrying a large and bloody butcher’s knife. He pulled himself up, the large fabric of his sleeves tracking dirt. His clothes were too big, made of primary colours, the red made up by blood. He was perfectly pale with red hair, a bulbous red nose, shifting with fluid; his teeth weren’t sharp or dirty, instead they were white, overly large but seemingly normal when compared to his exaggerated self. Hands balloon-like, feet overly long and curling slightly up, tall and oddly proportioned, his head looking as though it was a drawing made real.

He was grinning with his large, white teeth, and yet I could still hear the chuckling. He bent low, a feat hard to conceptualise for a being with bones, his eyes stuck on Marie.

“Well, hello there little girl,” he said, the words exaggerated, filled with exaggerated enthusiasm. “And who might you be?”

“Marie,” the girl returned, coy.

“Marie,” he said, slow, taking his time with the word. “What a  _beautiful_ name, for a  _beautiful girl.”_

And he grinned.

At once all of the alarms in my head were ringing, they  _had_ been ringing for a long time now. I became aware as Chuckles looked up and then to me that I had a cloud of bugs above me, that there was the noise of skittering and cracking, and that a knife was in my hand.

Chuckles only chuckled.

“I don’t think he’ll work out,” I said.

“The Tenements is made out of Bogeyman that are…more civilised than most,” said Molly. “It means there are a whole lot more people summoning them if they’re new, more likely that people have protections against them. But he’s,  _repulsive._ People don’t summon him much.”

Chuckles chuckled louder, watching us with beady normal eyes.

I took a breath, slowly letting it out. Summoning from the metaphorical four corners of the Abyss to get a semblance of how it worked, how it operated, but I didn’t like that I would be getting information from  _him._

“Such  _pretty_ girls,” he murmured, loud enough for us to hear.

“No,” I said. “Not worth it.”

“Yeah,” said Molly. “Back.”

Chuckles’ expression twisted into something monstrous as the hole opened and he fell in.

“Oh,” said Marie. “Killing him would have be  _so_ fun.”

I hummed in agreement.

“Two more,” I said. “Then we’re done. Please tell me they’re relatively better?”

Molly only shrugged. “I call forth the Creature of the Marsh,” she said. Nothing happened. “I call forth the Dweller in the Deep. The Silent Giant. I call you from the Barge, from those murky waters you call home, and I ask you come by my side.”

A hole opened and water sloshed out. A giant form stepped through and as he came out I saw that he looked like the creature from the Black Lagoon except on steroids. His face was that of a frog instead of a fish, his neck expanding every time he breathed in; his body was made of a mixture of scales and exoskeleton, all of them a murky green colour.

“Hello,” said Molly.

Hands with long fingers moved, a small wave.

“I take it you still haven’t learnt to talk?” she said. The frog monster shook his head slowly. He moved his hands, I didn’t know what he was saying, but I was sure it was sign language. “I’m sorry, I don’t know it.”

The frog monster shrugged.

“I’m offering a deal,” said Molly. “Service and I give priority. I’ll summon you if you fall back into the Abyss.”

The frog monster motioned writing.

“A contract?” He nodded. “We can work it out after the last.”

He shrugged.

“Nurse Waddingham,” she said. “The world needs you.”

A woman stepped through, long faced and with bloodshot eyes. She was tall, gaunt and wearing a black dress with a plain white apron showing from a black short cloak, pinned with gleaming medals. The woman had her arms crossed under the cloak, most likely hiding weapons.

Five summonings, with only three successful. Nurse Waddingham from the Infirmaries; Marie from the Academy; and the Frog Man from the Barge. Hopefully, from the information I got from them, I’d have a better understanding of the pathways that existed in the Abyss.

But first, meeting the Practitioners of Jacob's Bell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not really good at coming up with cool names, for people or for places, that are supposed to invoke awe. Which is why I couldn’t trust myself to name the sections of the Abyss. Instead I chose to steal (with permission) the cool names that ughzubat came up with over on the Cauldron discord channel.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the first chapter in which I use a beta and I'll be using the same beta throughout this story. Thanks maroon sweater over on Spacebattles for the work she's putting into cleaning this up. I'd put up a link to her work, but I have no idea how to do it.

**Affirmed**

**3.02**

“There’s power to a truce,” I said.

Molly and I were in the kitchen. She was working on a light meal while I watched her, keeping track of the other guests we had in the house: Marie was upstairs in one of the rooms, sitting in front of a mirror and brushing her hair, singing a bloody nursery rhyme; Nurse Waddingham was in the living room, looking out the window and standing deathly still; and Crooner was with us, the door looking out to the marsh open, and him leaning against the doorway. Every one of his breaths had him get larger, broader, more muscular, before he would let it out and got marginally smaller again.

He seemed at ease with taking everything in.

“Beyond just magic,” I continued. Molly had stopped because I’d stopped, glancing in my direction. “It’s…the power of rational players, the power that action might cause reaction. If they attack you, even if they all agree, then the truce will be over because it instils  _doubt._ A member in the council will ask themselves every time there’s gathering, am I going to be next? Are these people going to pool their resources, break the truce for  _me?”_

Molly let out a long breath, stopping from her work and looking my way. “I get what you’re saying,” she said. “I get what you’re trying to do, but I can’t help noticing how I’ve summoned Others to serve as a threat. That means there must be an implicit danger in being there, right?”

“In most things there’s implicit danger, I think,” I said. “You’re taking a risk to get some form of reward. Here, you’re taking that risk so that you’re on a better footing in the long term. The Others we’ve summoned are less for if things go bad during the council meeting and more of a statement for the future.”

“A manifesto of sorts?” she said. “That I’m growing more powerful day-by-day?”

“You could say that,” I said, keeping an eye on her.

“That’s a double-edged sword, though,” she said. “If I’m growing more and more, then there’s the chance that I might get bold enough to go the traditional route.”

“I’m still not quite sure about the various players and how they’re reacting,” I said, “but I think it’s safe to say most of them already think you’re going to find one reason or another to deal with demons.”

Crooner looked in our direction, the motion so sudden that I thought we might be under attack. Every bug I had moving around the property told me there was nothing going on, but that didn’t mean anything when there were exotic magical effects I might be missing.

Molly let out a breath, shaking her head. “You know, most people don’t like even mentioning the word,” she said. “It’s…scary from the outside looking in when you’re talking about them in polite conversation.”

I shrugged. “They’re still abstract in my head,” I said. “I know what they can do, their devastation, but…” I shrugged. It was more scary thinking about Jack Slash and the Nine than demons.

Molly hummed and went back to cooking. Upstairs Marie had finished brushing her hair and was meticulously tying it with ribbons. When she was done, she got up, and looked herself over, straightening creases in her dress. I had other bugs on her, searching her for any weapons and I’d counted twenty knifes arrayed on her person, wire thread tied around her wrists, arms, legs, ankles and loops hidden in her dress.

Of all of us, she was the most armed, with me as a close second. Nurse Waddingham, from what I’d felt, only had one weapon and it was a scalpel that was always in hand; and Crooner had no weapons whatsoever.

Crooner I could understand, he was large and he seemed to get bigger if he breathed in; that and being a water creature meant weapons weren’t easy to wield. But what reason did Nurse Waddingham have to only carry one weapon? There had to be some magic tied to it, but with how little I knew and how broad things were, I couldn’t even guess what she might have hidden up her sleeve.

_They’re not enemies,_ I had to remind myself as my mind moved through figuring out how I’d fight them. We had similar weaknesses, all of us, which meant we couldn’t use old things against each other. If it was a fight, it would be us wielding whatever powers we had. Marie might be the easiest to handle. She was a lightweight and anything thrown I could catch. She had tricks with what she done with turning her knife, but I could take away visibility.

_They’re not the enemies you should be focusing on,_ I thought and this time I pushed, giving the thought more weight. I needed to consider the town’s people, the people after Molly. Chief Behaim had already shown how they could work, less about the power he’d shown by shoving us forward in time, but the way he’d sought to degrade our relationship.

Would the others work the same way or would there be other things?

“Tell me about the council,” I said. “Who we’ll be up against.”

Molly stopped for a moment before she nodded.

“The Behaims you’ve already met through their leader,” she said. “They’re Chronomancers, dealing with time.”

“I need less about magic and more the type of people they are,” I said, interrupting her. “This won’t be a fight with magic, it’ll be about talking, which,” I sighed, stopping the sentence short. She seemed to get it. “I’m more asking about personalities, that sort of thing.”

She nodded. “Chief Behaim, we’ve met,” she said. “He’s…all about order? I don’t know him that well, but he’s police chief and in his tenure, there’s been a drop in crime. Most of the things that slip through are magical. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about other people in his family because they rally around him, following his lead.”

I nodded. “He tried and failed,” I said. “Do you think he’d try something again?”

“I don’t know,” Molly said, shrugging a little.

“The others,” I said.

“The Duchamps are what we should really be worried about, I think,” she said. “They manipulate relationships, but for that you have to have a good sense of how things work in the more mundane sense. Every word from them will be dangerous, above and beyond the inherent danger that is the word of a Practitioner.”

“I think I have a good sense of what they might pull,” I said as I thought about Jack Slash, Emma and even Tattletale.

All of them had a sense, through power or personality, of how people worked and how to cut into them. I remembered Jack Slash talking to Panacea, dipping into her insecurities to get her to do what he wanted; I remembered Emma digging into our past, hitting me with an uppercut when I least expected it; and there was Tattletale,  _Lisa_ , whose power worked like that. I remembered my first real outing with the Undersiders, the bank job, and how she’d preyed on Panacea and Glory Girl’s secrets, used them to control the battle.

“They might be the hardest,” I said. “All of them are like that?”

“I get the sense,” she said. “They work with Faeries who are social manipulation incarnate and they’re  _good_ at it. That’s worth worrying about, I think.”

“I’m making facsimiles in my head,” I said. “All these threats are still sort of abstract but I think I have the gist of it.”

“Okay,” she said. “Duchamps and the Behaims are major players, of sorts. They’re big and they have  _weight._ Crone Mara also has weight, but that’s because she’s effectively immortal. She’s likely to have been here before even Jacob’s Bell, but she’s not going to be trouble. She doesn’t take part in things, at least that’s what I got from the notes.”

“You don’t know her?”

“I know the stories,” said Molly, “and now I’m wondering if they’re true.” She sighed when she saw my expression. “It goes: Don’t go into the Crone’s Forest,” she recited. “If you do, take the hardest path. Wait for dusk and listen for the bell. The forest is hers and if you’re caught in it, she’ll eat you up.”

“That…”

“Can’t happen?” she said and snorted. “We live in a world of magic, nasty stuff happening that gets hidden. Would it surprise you if the same was being done here? Crone Mara eating people up and magic working to hide it?”

I shrugged.

Molly took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Sorry,” she said, “getting distracted. Behaims, Duchamps, Crone Mara and the North End Sorcerer, Johannes. He’s young and powerful, too powerful when he doesn’t come from a line and he’s  _forward thinking,_ accumulating power through friendships with Others more than forcing them.”

She stopped, giving me a look.

“You’re worried he’s going to give me an offer I won’t refuse,” I said.

“It’s a rational worry,” she said. “And something that’s always going to be nagging at the back of my mind. Full disclosure.”

“Ditto,” I said. “Full disclosure: A good deal that doesn’t end with you dead and I might take it.”

She shook her head. “That isn’t making me feel any better.”

“I could stop saying so,” I said and shrugged. “If that would make you feel better.”

“I don’t think that would, either,” she said. She turned forward. “It’s unlikely that anything would make me feel better if I’m being honest. I’ve got to cover my bases.”

“I can understand that,” I said. “But that sort of paranoia…” I shrugged. “It’s not going to make you any friends.”

Molly didn’t say anything. “Food’s done,” she said.

“Thank you,” I said. The others didn’t come to eat, but Marie came down and watched us eat which was a little creepy.

“I wish I could eat,” said Marie.

“Why don’t you?” I asked.

“I shucked it off,” she said. “The teacher of the Others in the Academy used food as leverage. Either you had to do things for them or hunt one of the others and eat them. I was small and I wasn’t part of a crowd so I couldn’t hunt at first. I slept and had a vision, I knew what I wanted to do and I didn’t need to eat anymore.”

“Eating is a link to humanity,” Molly said. “The decision would have made you more Other, more of a Bogeyman.”

Marie shrugged. “All of that doesn’t matter,” she said. “Only that I don’t need to eat.”

“It matters,” said Molly. “If you understand it, you can understand the way things are.”

“Or you can just look at the way they are and not look beneath,” she said. “If you over-complicate things then you just get bogged down in detail.”

“At surface level it may be the same thing,” Molly said and she shrugged. She glanced at her watch as she finished off her food. “Three hours before. It’s safe.”

“Into the lion’s den,” I said. “Metaphorically speaking.”

***

“A church,” I said. I’d seen Others ahead of us as we walked, not hiding themselves as they usually did, and instead hidden by magic and the fact that the area around us was desolate. I’d had bugs ahead of us, tagging people and moving through the walls of the building to get a better sense of everyone. With the bugs clustered in corners of the place, I got a visual sense of the crowd, even if I couldn’t see them in detail.

Even so I’d missed the fact that this was a church.

“Isn’t this…sacrilegious?” I said.

Molly was wrapped up in warm clothing, slightly hunched and her face etched in a frown. She’d been more comfortable at the house, even with me and the other Others surrounding her, but now all of that was gone. Two steps back for one step forward. I was in my wolf pelt, carrying my full assortment of weapons and bulked up by an  _excess_ of bugs. It made me feel more comfortable even when I knew it was unlikely that I’d get attacked, wrapping myself up in everything that made me strong.

It was a pity that Molly didn’t do that with her own strength, wrap herself up in the comfort of it. Crooner and Nurse Waddingham walked behind us, while Marie was slightly behind Molly, holding on to the back of her jacket as a child might. It was jarring to see the way she acted, the sort of innocence she projected, and then feel all the knives that were stowed on her person. It was eerily similar to Bonesaw and every time that thought came to mind, I thought about stamping the girl out, sending her back to the Abyss so there wouldn’t be the chance that she would get me if I’d softened too much to her.

“It feels right,” Molly said and she shrugged. “Churches are often at the centre of their communities, metaphorically and sometimes literally. It says something about the council that they would do this, put themselves here.”

“Symbolism,” a voice said. We turned to face it and I was surprised that I’d missed them, three people who were unnaturally  _beautiful._ The woman tall and lithe, her features sharp in a way that made her look exotic, her hair silky smooth and drifting to a breeze I didn’t feel; one of the guys was on the tall side, bulky but not too much, stopping at just the right place that he didn’t look deformed; the last guy was shorter, not too much muscle but he gave off the sense that he was athletic. The last guy was the one who’d spoken and he had on a grin that reminded me too much of Tattletale.

“Look back and you’ll find that symbolism finds a way of becoming  _real,”_ he continued. “Now,  _here,_ they put themselves at the centre of things and reality find it easier to make it so. Eventually everything starts to revolve around this council, their success becomes that of the town and vice versa, every decision that gets made finds a way of coming through here.”

The guy’s grin got wider. “Padraic,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, wilting Rose, and to see you again, dear Skitter.”

“You’re the trio,” I said, because I knew his soft voice.

Padraic smiled. “Yes,” he said and his voice was different, gruffer. Not his voice but that of the man beside him.

“You can change your voice,” I said, because it felt like he was giving me pieces to a puzzle and he wanted me to figure it out. He only smiled in return, smugness radiating off him as I took everything in, looking at the large man and then the woman. “They didn’t agree to my deal,” I said. “It was you.”

The grin stretched wider, so much so that it was inhuman in how far it went. I’d broken a promise and hadn’t even known about it. I’d told them I’d attack if they didn’t agree to terms and only one of them had agreed. I hadn’t attacked the others.

My stomach dropped as I waited for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the hand of the Abyss to take me and pull me back into its midst for the broken promise. Even so, I made sure not to show any fear, only staring Padraic and his companions down. I didn’t know how I was going to play this yet, but showing fear wasn’t a way I could win.

The grin dropped and he pouted, it was a childish thing and yet there was still a cuteness to it. It hit all the right places so I didn’t find it annoying when I usually would.

“No fun in some places and all the promise of fun in others,” Padraic said. He waved a hand. “You don’t have to worry. I know how tenuous your kind’s hold on the world is. A deal was made and things decided ex parte: I asked my friends to give me their debt so I could balance it against mine. You don’t mind this, do you?”

“No,” I said, because what could I say? I didn’t have a strong sense of how things worked yet. It could be that the broken promise would be enough that I’d be sent back to the Abyss and it was unlikely that the information I wanted would do me any good there.

“Good,” he said. “It’s always good when we can get along. After you, dear ladies and gentleman.”

“No need to fret, wilting Rose,” said the woman. “To stab you would be too uncouth. When we come after you, you’ll only see it when everything’s set.”

She tittered as Molly shrunk even more, the big guy hiding a smile in a way that made sure that we could see that he was smiling. I hadn’t met an Other I liked yet, it was too dangerous to do so, but these guys I didn’t like because they reminded me of Emma, Sophia and Madison. They seemed to be schoolyard bullies more than anything and, irrationally, that was more disgusting than everything I’d come across so far.

We left them behind. I tried to tag them with bugs so I could keep track of them but every time one landed they’d swipe it away, killing them.

We entered and I wasn’t surprised by the eyes that turned towards us, even so I felt uncomfortable. Bugs reacted, starting to fly towards me and adding their mass to my bulk. Each layer I put on, the more bugs I had moving through my clothes and hair, hiding much of my face, the better I felt that I could handle this.

I took the lead and the others followed.

The church was split into four aisles of pews, with the Duchamp and Behaim families taking the middle aisles near the front; Crone Mara sat on an aisle of her own, stationed near, but not at the front. Even sitting, she made sure that she sat the furthest from everyone, Practitioner and Other both. Briar Girl and the North End Sorcerer sat in the same row, but their positions were different; Briar Girl sat so she was a little closer to the big families, a little away from the Others, while the North End Sorcerer immersed himself in them, sitting in between the Others who’d chosen to sit instead of stand.

Maybe it was having met Padriac, having him speaking of symbolism because my mind was keenly aware of it as we entered, as eyes of Practitioner and Other both turned in our direction. I took it all in, trying to make sense of it all: The Duchamps and the Behaims, sitting at the centre and at the front, the group with the most influence here, the most power by sheer scale of numbers? Then there was the Crone Mara, sitting on her own, not really Other and not Practitioner as well, but still so powerful that she felt confident to sit near the front.

The North End Sorcerer was something else, he was supposedly powerful through making friends with Others and it showed with how comfortable he was sitting within them. There was an air of calm to him even as he sat beside a large Other, its skin a pale green and scars crisscrossing sections of visible skin, or the gaunt looking man with grey skin and bloodshot eyes.

Where would Molly fit into this? Where would I?

I was an Other, a Bogeyman and I didn’t know much about this world. It felt almost natural that I go and stand with the other Others who dominated the back, most not sitting, and instead standing and sucking up the light, making the entire church darker. But I didn’t like that because…it would be casting me out. If the symbolism thing Padraic was true, and it had to be in this world, then I would just be another face in the crowd,  _unimportant._

People were starting to talk, a myriad of conversations because we’d stopped a little, taking everything in. I started walking again and the others followed, Molly was a little too slow, especially since I was walking up the passage towards the front, but she got in motion as Marie pushed her a little forward.

Molly was pedigree, she came from power and to do away with that didn’t make sense. She didn’t show it, she was afraid to show it because of all the baggage that power had, but it hadn’t stopped anyone from treating her as an enemy, did it?

Looking through everything with a lens of symbolism, then she had to sit at the front. I was Molly’s ally, yes, but I was also the Warlord of Brockton Bay. I’d had power and though I’d given it away, it still meant something that I’d had that power, didn’t it? A king didn’t stop being a king just because they were in another country, they were still due some respect.

Mara’s aisle was still her own, and we couldn’t sit with the Duchamps or the Behaims, which meant we largely chose the row with the North End Sorcerer, Briar Girl and the Others, but we sat so far apart from them it was clear we weren’t affiliated.

Molly was distinctly uncomfortable as we sat. Me to one side of her, Marie to her other, the girl having found Molly’s hand, and Crooner and Nurse Waddingham sitting behind us.

“Sitting here…,” Molly whispered.

“Makes sense,” I said, pushing a little finality in my voice. She gave me a long look and then nodded, facing forward and not turning much, not allowing herself take in everyone, likely avoiding all the eyes there were still on us. I bumped her shoulder when I saw him and gestured with my head.

She turned and I saw a smile as she saw him, Chief Behaim along with a blonde woman—which didn’t mean much with the Duchamps—had risen. Most of him was covered up save his hands and face, and on both I could see welts from bug bites. They weren’t the worst thing I’d ever seen, certainly they looked like they’d healed a touch, but they were  _there,_ a symbol of our little victory and that seemed to put Molly more at ease than anything I might have said.

She loosed a little, sitting straighter as she watched the two meet and then share quick words. Chief Behaim glanced at his watch and said something to the woman, they both glanced at the back and Chief Behaim gave a satisfied nod. In quick order two groups had entered: first the Witch Hunters, Andy and Eva, both of whom moved so they were at the front, not sitting in the pews but sitting so they faced towards everyone, and the last group were Padraic and the other Faeries.

“I think that this is everyone who will be in attendance,” said Chief Behaim. “So, we should begin.” He looked towards us, looking at Molly in particular. “Ms Walker,” I expected Molly to shrink again but she didn’t, “would you like to introduce yourself?”

Molly took a deep breath, her eyes closing before she slowly let it out.

“This strikes me as masturbatory,” she said, her voice was shaky, no projection, but everyone was silent, paying attention which helped. “If you don’t know who I am at this point then you likely don’t care. I’d rather not stand when I don’t have to.”

I smiled a little. Insolence, disrespect, projecting strength by disregarding something held sacred. It was a hit against her that she still sounded a little scared, that she didn’t sound like she believed the words, but it was a step in the right direction.

Chief Behaim only hummed, his eyes flickering towards me before he looked at everyone else.

“I think, then, we should get on with the meeting,” he said, he looked towards the blonde woman.

“Sandra Duchamp,” Molly said beside me.

Sandra nodded and said, “Things in Reno have gotten a lot worse in a relatively short span of time. Laird and I discussed, and we were hoping to put things at rest until they’re dealt with.”

“Is there anyone dealing with it?” Padraic asked. “Goblins taking a town so close…”

“I have word from Toronto that their Lord has sent someone to deal with it,” she said. “Fell. He’s quite capable, I’m told.”

Bugs shifted and Sandra stopped, turning and looking towards us. I felt as the Witch Hunters shifted, with Eva moving to her gun.

“Yes?” said Sandra.

“Context, please,” every bug said, the sound an ever-present whisper. I felt a bit of fear, not as much as there should have been, but enough that I could put it towards face. There was none from the older people in the crowd, most set in the kids, particularly poignant in the Duchamp section.

“Of course,” said Sandra. “A major goblin is terrorising the town of Reno. We thought things would peter out, as these things often do, but this Goblin has quickly amassed power.”

“It’s very likely it might be old,” said a voice from the back. I turned slightly to face it and it was the dog sitting at the North End Sorcerer’s side.

“Faysal Anwar,” Molly said. The North End Sorcerer’s familiar and an  _angel._ Molly had told me that they didn’t have much to do with the Judeo-Christian faith, being counters to demons more than anything. Which equated to me not really knowing what they were about when even demons were still abstract in a sense.

“Much older than the one you’ve faced if you’re thinking of going after it,” Faysal said. “Likely smarter and more powerful.”

“That wasn’t what I was thinking,” I said through my bugs.

“Oh?” the dog said, curiosity in its voice. “I’m curious, what  _were_ you thinking?”

“What it says about the people here that they see a problem and think that it’ll sort itself out than taking steps to solve it,” I said. I turned, looking towards Sandra and Laird, they weren’t paying as much attention to me as they were to Faysal which was insulting.

“You’re new to this world,” said Faysal. “There’s a lot you don’t understand.”

“Which isn’t really an argument, is it?” I said. “It’s like an adult, when they’re faced with a question they can’t answer, telling a child they won’t understand.”

The dog smiled. “It’s about power and its use,” it said. “These Practitioners fear that their plots and plans would be destabilised if they used too much power for a problem that isn’t their own. Especially when the problem right beside you seems a whole lot more dangerous.”

“That’s what I thought,” I said. “Albeit that thought hadn’t solidified yet.”

“You say that like you’d do something,” said a boy, there was a keen expression on him, a deck of cards held in one hand. “Like it’s worth ignoring how much worse the world would be because of the Thorburn Heiress.”

“Alistair Behaim,” Molly said. “He’s a smug ass, takes after Laird.” Padraic and a few Others chuckled at the back.

“Heard that,” said Alistair.

“Would versus is,” I said. “You’re working in hypothetical while ignoring something real. I’ve met only a few Goblins but I think I have the gist of how they are. Without a doubt I can say that  _people are suffering because of them._ With your power, the knowledge you’ve collectively accumulated, I’d go there without a second thought.”

The dog hummed. “I wonder if that’s because you sought to help people as you phrase things, or if you were driven by your nature,” he said.

Crone Mara spoke and it was a language I didn’t understand. The Faeries sat up at that, looking with interest at the angel.

“Yes,” said Faysal Anwar. Padraic broke out into a hearty laugh, childlike and unadulterated.

“Oh, wilting Rose,” he said. “You have no idea the  _variety_ you’ve brought into the world.”

“You know what she is?” Sandra said.

Faysal Anwar nodded.  _“Look_ , Sandra Duchamp, and you’ll see it,” he said. “Above and beyond the mess, look for a thread, so thin so it’s almost invisible but so strong it’s likely unbreakable.”

At once the woman was holding a chalice with red liquid within it. She dipped her finger within and waved her hand, in the same motion drawing out a line. I couldn’t feel that she was doing anything, but I was a little panicked, my blood running cold because I didn’t really know what was happening and what it would mean.

It was very likely that the angel knew what I was, that I wasn’t from this world and that my powers weren’t magic, but something else. I’d told Molly this without fear, but there I’d controlled that information whereas here it was all just unravelling without me having any input.

My bugs were shifting and moving, wanting to go on the attack but held back by an exercise in will. Three hours until they could do anything, they would be held by terms of the truce. Even if I was suddenly some abomination that had to be quickly dealt with, there was still the power of the truce, the words that I’d told Molly.

“What is this?” Sandra said, voice almost breathless.

“An infestation,” said Faysal Anwar, just as Padraic said, “A boon.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Affirmed**

**3.03**

_Infestation?_

“Okay,” said Alistair Behaim, breaking the rhythm of Padraic’s laughing. The Faerie didn’t stop, every time his laughter rose, it became the centre of my attention.

_Annoying,_ especially when I had so many questions.

“What does that mean?” Alistair continued and I could have kissed him for asking. I was  _interested._ I wanted to know what the Angel knew about Earth Bet and  _how_ he knew it. I had to stopmyself from looking at them, letting them see that I was interested. I also had to stop because Molly was beside me and she’d notice, if she hadn’t already noticed that  _something_ was wrong.

“Everything has a price,” said a new voice—not the Angel, but the man beside him. Johannes, the North End Sorcerer. “This is no different.”

“Yes,” the Angel agreed.

“Sandra?” said Chief Behaim.

“A god,” said Sandra. She didn’t whisper but the words came out soft, almost stopping in her throat. She seemed stuck in place, gazing  _beyond._  “Minor or major, I don’t know. But it’s big. I see it and I don’t think I’m seeing all of it. It’s…a machine, living, flesh and crystalline…”

She would be seeing my passenger. What had Tattletale said? Our passengers were on other worlds, the size of mountains or moons, collecting energy to fuel our powers. Was that what she was seeing now? If it was, could that same  _sight_ be used to get me there or maybe onto another world?

How did the parasite or boon thing fit?

**“Sandra,”** a woman said and I  _felt_ the words, a power and insistence to them. I bristled, feeling as my bugs shook, barely  _stopping_ them before they could go on the attack. I was lucky that I was able to hold myself back because an Other at the back didn’t _,_ it snarled, jumping on pews and pouncing, going to the Duchamp faction.

Eva had been waitingfor it because she got up, a gun in hand and a bullet let loose in a split second. She hit the Other, a small thing, child-like in appearance even if it seemed feral _._ The bullet didn’t stop it, but it took it off course. The thing slammed into an empty chair, slipped beneath and then groaned, not getting up.

“That’ll be enough,” Chief Behaim said. There wasn’t the same power as the woman who’d spoken before, but everyone who’d been moving stopped. “Clarice,” he said and he gave a reproachful look at one of the older Duchamps.

“She was starting to lose herself,” the woman, Clarice, said. “It had to be done.”

“You could have warned us,” said Johannes.

“No time,” said Clarice. “At least I thought so.”

“Be that as it may,” said Chief Behaim. “Let’s not have something like this happen again.” The woman nodded. “Sandra.”

“I’m fine,” she said and she looked a little flustered. Her eyes strayed in my direction before she quickly looked away, turning back to the congregation.

Chief Behaim looked at the Angel. “Is she something we should be worried about?”

“Yes!” said Padraic and I scowled at the giddy chuckle in his voice.  _“Yes,_ Aimon Behaim, you should. She already dislikes you and with her kind, it only takes the slightest  _push_ for there to be action.”

Chief Behaim pursed his lips, not saying anything but looking towards the Angel. I was  _stuck._ Stuck because I didn’t know how to react. There were so many things I wanted to ask, but that would be starting from a position of weakness. I needed that information, but in this world, it would be better if someone offered it than me asking.

“I won’t answer on that regard,” said the Angel. “Not without payment in return.”

Chief Behaim pursed his lips further. He looked at me and my alertness rose up a notch.

“This would go well for you if you told us what you are,” he said. “You’re a god or godling, and you’re working for the Thorburn family—”

“Working  _with,”_ I corrected.

“Yes,” he said. “Working with. A godling working with Diabolist. It’s a good way of ensuring that people work against you, that we pool—”

“You can stop,” I said. “Don’t threaten me, Chief Behaim, it’s not endearing.”

“I wasn’t trying to be endearing,” he said. “I was stating what’s very likely to happen.”

“That’s…” Molly stopped, there’d been too much fear in her voice. Her hands clenched and I could see determination. “That’s an empty threat when you’re already gunning for her,” she said. “You tried to banish her to the Abyss.”

“Point,” I said.

“And in so doing I didn’t even use a  _sliver_ of the strength afforded to me as leader of the Behaims,” he said. “But if you are a god or godling, then what’s stopping me and others from doing so?”

He was right. I still didn’t know enough to be able to defend myself effectively from them, not enough tricks. If they were  _really_ after me, using all their power, then would I be able to survive?

But I also didn’t  _want_  to tell them. As I looked at Chief Behaim, I couldn’t help but see Alexandria superimposed over him. She’d beat me down, shown her superiority and rubbed my face in it.

Chief Behaim was a bully much like Alexandria, using the power he had to put others down. I looked at Molly, thought back to all the shit they’d put her through. I thought of myself and what Emma, Sophia and Madison had put me through. I thought about Coil and what he’d put Dinah through.

_I’m not going to suffer bullies. Never again._

“So be it,” I said.

There was another giggle from Padraic and it grated. I had to stop again from moving my bugs. Eva wasn’t a worry. Sure, she had a gun, but I could track her and her brother enough to dodge. The real power was the magic of everyone here, of the implicit promise I’d made not to attack when I’d come in. If I broke that, it increased the chance I would go to the Abyss and I still didn’t want to go there.

Chief Behaim and Sandra Duchamp both looked in my direction, before I said, “Reno. It’s interesting that you’ve entirely forgotten it for your self-interest.”

“You keep saying that,” it wasn’t Chief Behaim or Sandra who spoke, instead it was Alistair. “I wonder if you can put your money where your mouth is, metaphorically speaking.”

“This is going to be a trap,” said Molly, but I could already see it. Alistair knew it too, wearing a smug grin.

“What are you thinking?” I said, even though I had a sense where things would go.

“You tell us about yourself and you’ll have some of the Behaim power,” said Alistair. He glanced in Chief Behaim’s direction and the man looked impassive even if he was holding himself wrong. He’d stood taut since Alistair had started talking and he still hadn’t calmed down.

“I’m likely to be the next leader of the family,” he said. “I know the tricks and I’ve got a lot of power saved up. I could go to Reno, deal with things—”

“Not you alone,” I said.

Alistair grinned. “Trying to make it harder to make this deal?” he said. “Making it so it’s not worth it? That’s unsporting.”

“No,” I said.

“No?” he said and he frowned.

“No,” I said.

I don’t know  _why,_ but that had knocked Alistair off his rhythm. One hand had a deck of cards. He cut it and glanced at it, even so, he still frowned.

“I’ll come too,” said another girl.

I looked at Molly. “Ainsley Behaim,” she said.

I nodded. “I’ll tell both of you,” I said, “As part of my price it’ll be that you can’t tell anyone else.”

“And you think I’m going to go along with that?” said Alistair.

I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I said. “That’s up to you.”

Alistair frowned again. I felt that the frowning was important, that it was something I could use, but I couldn’t figure out  _why?_

“So if the entire family volunteers, then all of us know,” said Ainsley to Alistair.

“I’m not stupid, Alistair Behaim,” I said.

I could only think that he thought my idealism made him think I was stupidly so. I could see it, him offering up his services though it wouldn’t mean much of a loss for his family, but by telling them everything about me, the family as a whole would be the better off. In one fell swoop they’d have me out of the picture and they might be better suited to do whatever they’d been doing with Molly. All while not helping the people in Reno to the extent they were  _worth_ helping.

“It’s your choice if you’re up for the deal,” I said again. I didn’t want to tell Chief Behaim because he was a bully. The rest of his family weren’t bullies but they just let it happen, which…I didn’t know if that was better or worse, but it didn’t give me too high an opinion of them. But it was worth giving them this despite my dislike, if it meant people would be saved.

It also helped that I was phrasing things so  _they_ were the ones making the decision. I hated how they treated Molly, how they  _justified_ their ill-treatment of her because of the greater good. I was hoping, that if they refused, it would be a mirror, showing them who they truly were.

I didn’t know what it would achieve, but I wanted to knock it into their heads regardless.

“A similar deal for the Duchamps,” said one of their girls.  _Penelope,_ Molly provided. “And I’ll accept it. Anyone that wants to do the same is welcomed, girls.”

“Yeah,” said one of the girls, Chloe Duchamp. “I’m in.”

“Me too,” said another, though this one I knew. Charlotte, the girl who’d tried to mess with me and Molly.

“Fuck it,” said Alistair. “I’m in.” Ainsley nodded.

“We’ll talk tomorrow,” I said. “Discuss terms.”

“Good,” said Chief Behaim, his voice stiff. “Now that that’s concluded, we can deal with the crux of what Sandra and I thought we’d deal with in regard to Reno.”

“A truce,” said Sandra, “until things in Reno look to be settled. I’m hoping that we’ll stock power, prepare for the eventual outflow of Goblins when things are resolved.”

“You benefit a lot from a truce,” said Johannes.

“But it’s acceptable,” said the Angel. “From our end.”

I caught Johannes giving his familiar a look before he nodded.

“How will things work for me?” said Molly. “Will the truce apply to me too? No more fucking with me?”

“Giving her time means we might have to deal with demons,” said one of the Others at the back.

“She could make a promise not to touch the things,” said Chief Behaim.

“No,” said Molly. A silence sort of hung. “I have obligations,” Molly explained. “They’ll mean I might have to break that promise.”

“You’re not really making things easier for yourself,” said Alistair.

“They weren’t easy in the first place,” said Molly. “I can make another deal. I…I might be reading this wrong but I have a feeling that there’ll be a group that’ll go to Reno.”

I nodded. “It’ll be part of the terms,” I said. “Them going and me along with them, making sure they actually  _do_ something.”

Molly nodded. “I could go along. It’ll mean that my progress can be tracked,” she said. “You’ll be keeping an eye on them and you can keep an eye on me through them. It means, even if I handle something demonic, you’ll know what it is.”

_“Really_ digging that hole,” said Alistair. Molly only frowned.

“Does it have anything to do with the  _firm?”_ said Chief Behaim.

Molly started a little. “It’s my thinking, yes,” she said.

He nodded. “As much as you all trust me, you can trust this deal,” he said. “We’d be in no more danger this way than we would have been in if she were to stay in the Thorburn Estate, still learning.”

Even so, there was more talking, discussing the nitty-gritty of the truce and where it would apply, what would constitute breaking it and how the local Others would operate within the confines of the truce. I didn’t like that the Others could still kill, that they were only stopped from attacking other Practitioners, but I didn’t think I could do anything but be disruptive.

“What about fighting between Others?” I said. “Territory, that sort of thing?”

I heard a groan from a Goblin because this meant talks started anew. More than a few Practitioners used Others, but it was Johannes’ trade. People worried that Others might fight some of  _their_ Others to gain favour with Johannes. To nip this in the bud, there was a try to get Johannes to say he wouldn’t give any favour if this happen, which he refused. Then they changed things so that everyone would attack the offending Other if this happened, effectively stopping Johannes from doing this.

Fights between Others for their own ends, hunting and the like, were still allowed.

There was a lot of potential for abuse there; my mind was already running through all the work I’d need to do. This wasn’t for Molly, not for her to use, but it was for  _me._ There were different rules between Others and Practitioners and I could use that against them.

The meeting ended after what felt like forever and it was a good thing that I hadn’t set thing ups with the Behaims and Duchamps for after the meeting because I was mentally drained.

“That was fun,” said Marie. “Lots to learn.”

“Not my kind of fun,” Molly muttered. “But you’re free to your opinion.”

We waited a little while before leaving, letting the Others at the back filter out first. They were just raring to go and I didn’t want to be caught in their tempo. 

I watched the Practitioners, seeing as they talked. I watched the Angel; it wasn’t talking to anyone but Johannes was, talking to a large Other while a group of child Others hung close to him.

“I feel stupid all of a sudden,” said Molly. I gave her a look. “Do you know the story of the Pied Piper and his flute?” I nodded. “Johannes has those, which makes Marie a liability.”

“But she isn’t a child,” I said. “She’s over fifty.”

“She’s a child where it counts,” said Molly and she sighed.

“You can’t send me back,” said Marie. “We made a deal.”

“It would be a bad example if you did,” said Nurse Waddingham, her voice stern and reproachful.

Setting things up to get Molly killed?

“The dog’s coming over,” said Marie.

I looked and it was. The steps were short even for a large dog, but he got to us faster than he should have.

“Skitter,” the Angel said.

“Angel.”

“Faysal, please,” he said. I gave him a short nod. “How are you liking things?”

“It’s an adjustment,” I said, all too aware that people were, if not looking at us, then  _listening._

“It would be,” he said. “You have an open invitation to my and Johannes’ demesne. Perhaps we can discuss your predicament.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

He smiled, which was strange for a dog. I was supposed to be on my guard, but it was hard when dogs reminded me of Bitch, when they’d helped me over and over on Earth Bet. “Worthy of note: I am a being of  _paths,”_ he said. “It wouldn’t be out of the question that I might stumble onto the path that led you here and be able to lead you back.”

I nodded, even if I wanted to say more, even if I wanted him to tell me everything. I couldn’t pounce on this, couldn’t when he would ask for something in return.

“I’ll think about it,” I said again.

Faysal hummed and then nodded, turning back and walking to Johannes.

“He’s an Angel,” said Molly. “He might want you to kill me.”

“Yeah,” I said, but I didn’t say anything else.

Molly let out a breath, her shoulders drooping a little.

“There’s very little that could be said that would make me just kill you,” I said.

She smiled a little. “Not making me feel better,” she said. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Let’s go,” I said when there was enough space that we could move.

After the post-meeting truce, I’d have to go hunting.

***

“Are you sure about this?” said Molly. “With everything that was said…”

“There’s a truce,” I said. “Practitioners are…not used to something like me. I don’t think they expected that I’d do something like this.”

“Or they expected it, leaving it open because they knew you’d take the bait and possibly get killed,” she said.

“Maybe,” I said. “You have to sleep.  _I’m_  mentally drained and I have no idea what it means for you.”

She nodded, stifling a yawn. “We’ll talk tomorrow, about things?” she said. “It’s…you were telling the truth, about everything.”

I nodded.

“I’m sorry, for not believing you,” she said.

“It’s okay,” I said with a shrug. “I have to go. Get as many Others as I can before we go to Reno. I don’t really know what we’ll be dealing with.”

Molly nodded. “Good luck and be careful,” she said.

“I’ll try,” I said and then I left, breaking into a run and feeling out the world around me. There would be Others out there, who’d be looking for their next meal, going on the attack, and I had the leeway to  _act,_ to be the hero I’d always wanted to be.

I pushed myself faster, turning my attention to the senses from my bugs, pulling back from the peripheral scaring I always did to keep my reserves up. The moment I stopped scaring, the moment I moved forward in the path of a hero, everything felt right. The contrast was  _stark,_ the feeling of being pulled back into the Abyss settling further than it usually did.

_This is me. I’m a hero. I have to remember that. Not lose myself in being a monster._

An hour’s running and I found my first monster—a man, to judge by the sense I got from my bugs. He was too tall, too thin and with a nose that was shaped like a beak without actually being a beak. I clustered bugs to see him and he wasn’t normal: he had clawed hands, limbs with sharp bends on his knees and elbows, and he was  _counting,_ his attention directed at my bugs.

I’d read about Others like him in the first book Molly had given me. The man would be a vampire, one of the weakest Others, the ones most prone to  _weakness._ The counting was one such weakness. I started adding more bugs into the swarm, making it so the vampire would have to count and count and count until I arrived.

The bone-thin man had sickly grey skin and was  _sharp—_ claws, teeth, ears, the shape of his eye brows and even the slant of his eyes. He was terrified as he looked at me, but he didn’t stop counting.

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him because he looked  _sickly._ Vampires in stories were  _powerful,_ worthy of fear, but in this world, they were pathetic things who had to  _work_ to survive.

“Can you survive off of animal blood?” I said.

“…Thousand-and thirty-five…” He shook his head.

“Does the human blood have to be fresh?” I asked. “Can you get blood off a blood bag?”

Slowly he shook his head.

I sighed. No way he could live without hurting others.

I pulled out the Goblin knife as I strode forward. He didn’t even step back, only continuing to count the ever-rising number of bugs. I went for his throat, ran the knife through. It didn’t cut cleanly, seeming to catch folds in skin and bone, making me stop and have to  _wrench_ as I worked at the head. All through it I felt as the vampire’s fear filled me up, making me stronger.

A few minutes and I successfully cut off the thing’s head, having it turn to ash when I was done.

I didn’t let myself feel guilty. It would have attacked people and that would be worse. It was better just to keep going ahead, but I made a mental note to carry a stake. Even if this was  _right_ I didn’t want to put another creature in too much pain as it died.

I caught a bead on  _something_ in the distance, a mixture of animal and wood, wearing a heavy cloak, carrying a shoddy sword. I started towards it, sending a large collection of my bugs in that direction.


	17. Chapter 17

**Affirmed**

**3.04**

 

“Okay,” said Alister. “I know  _ they _ won’t admit it, but I’m impressed by the scene.”

Molly and I had prepared a drawing room for the occasion: two seats for us and a long sofa for them, with tea, sandwiches, and cookies laid out on a short table in between us. I wasn’t in costume. I was ‘at home’ and a costume gave the impression of insecurity, not an image I wanted to project. Behind me was an Other I’d picked up last night. It was tall and thin, with skin that blended into wood; its large antler crown scraped the ceiling even with it hunched forward. The Other wore a heavy grass coat that fell to its waist, teemed with insects. 

Molly sat beside me, her bogeymen arrayed around her. Marie sat on the floor, playing with an ugly doll with half its face burnt off; Crooner leaned back against a wall, his chest puffed up so he looked bigger; and Nurse Waddingham was still as stone as she stood behind Molly, her face impassive as she stared down our guests.

“Some might say this is rude,” said Penelope Duchamp. She sat at the centre of the Duchamp faction, which sat slightly apart from the Behaim faction. On her right was Chloe Duchamp and on her left was Charlotte Duchamp. There was also a bird sitting on her shoulder, small, plump and a vivid yellow. It was disconcerting to see it was directing a scowl at me. “Having your weapons bared.” 

“Luckily we all know why my weapons would be bared,” said Molly, her voice shaky. She shrugged. “No need for ‘some’ to say.” 

“No need indeed,” I said. “I’d rather we cut to the chase and get to the deal. Every second we waste playing word games is a second that innocent people get hurt.” 

“And we know how much you care about those,” said Alister, grinning smugly. I gave him a glance, trying to read his expression, and I found it  _ waiting.  _

He expected something and when I thought about it, it was easy to spot. He was being sarcastic and I could pick at it if I wanted to. He didn’t really know me, didn’t really how much I cared about innocents, and I could  _ argue  _ that he was edging towards a lie. But arguing would be shooting myself in the foot. 

_ This is all a game to you, isn’t it?  _ I thought and I found I resented Alister a little more. 

I pushed it away. Better to focus on the path forward. 

“I’m envisioning something simple,” I said. “You offer me your power and I tell you all that you need to know.” 

“You say simple,” said Alister, “but… it's not really.” He sat back, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a deck of cards. He cut it with one hand, almost absently, took out a card and gave it a quick glance. 

“Offer you power, but for how long?” he said. “Tell us what we _need_ to know? It sounds like you’re gonna be the one who controls the flow of information and what we do. Too much power.” 

“There’s also room for you to fudge things too,” said Molly. She looked at me. “You told them to give you their power but how much? They could just do what’s minimally required and not even dip into their true wells of power.” 

“You make this sound like you want to use up our stores,” said Penelope. “At least going by the phrasing.” 

“Just pointing out flaws,” said Molly. “That’s what Alister is trying to do, right? He’s not exactly offering solutions, so forgive me if I’m wrong.” 

“ _Yet_ ,” Alister chimed in. “I was ramping up to that. You can’t do all of _this_ ,” he flailed his hands at us and our Others, “all of the showmanship and expect me to not join in.” 

“Technically it can be argued that they can,” Chloe Duchamp added. 

“ **Enough.”** The whisper came from the walls, reverberated throughout the room. Charlotte jumped, glancing up. She wasn’t the only one. Bugs had started to move into the room, crawling in dark patches on the ceiling. I felt fear but it was dulled; the only one who was really scared was Charlotte.

“This arguing doesn’t get us anywhere—” I started and I noticed Alister grin, sitting a little forward, preparing to move. He opened his mouth and a gnat got in it, choking him before he could speak. The Duchamp faction made a good show of stifling their smiles; Ainsley didn’t.

“Fuck,” Alister said between coughs, “ _…You_.” He coughed again. “For that.” 

I ignored him. “I admit simplicity isn’t helpful here,” I said, “and I think we should clear that up instead of getting bogged down by diversions. The framework is still the same. I’m willing to tell you about myself, provided you can’t tell anyone else and that you offer your power to help the situation in Reno.” 

“There’s a lot wrong with that,” said Ainsley. “A lot of ground for people to weasel out of helping you.” 

“This is harder if we aren’t acting in good faith,” I said. 

Alister snorted. “People are all panicky about you being a god or whatever,” he said, “but you say stuff like that and I find myself wondering if maybe they’re misinterpreting something.” 

“That would be unwise,” the canary said, its voice too deep for such a small bird. 

“You know something that we don’t, little canary?” said Alister. 

The bird gave him the most dead-pan of expressions before it looked away. Alister shrugged, unfazed. He cut his deck and gave it a glance.

“Things like this are better started with deciding the important elements first, then narrowing things down, looking for loopholes then closing them. From what I got from everyone else, you’re not used to this. Maybe good faith is something you can depend on where you come from, but not here.”

“Especially with a Diabolist in the picture,” said Penelope. She shrugged, her expression soft as she looked at Molly. “No hard feelings Molly, but I can say with confidence that the world is better with your kind gone.”

“Which is honestly fucked up because you aren’t giving me any options,” said Molly, anger mixed with desperation in her voice. “You attack and attack and attack, and you just expect me to sit here and take it? How does that make sense?” 

“A loud violent death,” said Alister with a shrug. “You die and it's one less problem. It sends a message to anyone else who would even  _ think  _ to use such stock-in-trade.” 

“So I can’t win unless I’m dead?” she said, the anger leaking away and leaving only desperation. 

“Reality can’t win unless you’re dead,” said Penelope and she managed to inject some sympathy in her voice. 

“Well  _ fuck  _ that,” said Molly. 

“Ominous words coming from a Diabolist,” said Alister. 

“We’re getting distracted,” I said. 

“Not really,” said Alister. “Because you say you’re looking out for innocents, want them unhurt and all that good stuff. Well, killing  _ her  _ would do that.” 

“Can you say that for a certainty?” I said. It was starting to chafe how much they were talking about killing Molly, but I also didn’t want to alienate them. “Or are you just postulating?” 

“I can say for a fact that the world would be better if you killed her,” said Alister, not missing a beat.

“By what definition of better?” I asked. “And how do you know for a fact?” I looked at his cards as he looked at them again. “You  have tarot cards, so you can see the future in some capacity but I have to assume it’s not clear cut.” 

It was the only way he wouldn’t win all the time. I’d met people who could see the future and there was some doubt there. Even though this was magic, it wouldn’t be that simple. 

“There’s room for interpretation in there and I have to think some of your biases will play into that. When you say 'for a fact,' I have to assume that you’re basing it off some reading or some line of logic we don’t know. So assuage that doubt. Tell me that, beyond doubt, the world will be better if Molly died.” 

Alister look at his deck and didn’t say anything. 

“We’re getting distracted,” I said. “I want to help Reno. Whether  _ you  _ want to participate isn’t something I really care about anymore, just that those people are helped. So focusing back on this…” 

The framework came first: information about me and them offering their power to help deal with everything in Reno. Then we began to narrow it down. Which was where the trouble started.

“The point is this,” said Alister. We were an hour in and Marie had gone out back to practise her knife throwing. Our cookies were half eaten, the sandwiches were fully gone, and Penelope’s bird had asked to eat some of my bugs because this was too boring for him to listen to. “You can’t control the flow of information. We should ask questions and you should give answers.” 

“Which is just so obvious I don’t know why you even tried,” I said. “There’s a balance of power here and you’re moving it wholly onto your end. You could ask for a weakness and I’d have to tell it to you.” 

Alister took a sip of his coffee. “Which is the  _ point,”  _ he said. “You’re giving up your secrets to help people. You’re trying to prove you’re better than us.” 

“I think that would have worked better if you hadn’t said that,” said Ainsley. She’d taken off her coat and pulled her hair into a ponytail. In front of her were leafs of paper covered with scribbled notes.

Alister waved her off. 

The real reason this was a sticking point was because there were  _ personal  _ things they could ask that I would have to answer. Sure I could think my way through it if the question were broad enough, but that would be defeating the point. I wanted to show them their hypocrisy and if I was a hypocrite they’d ignore their own flaws while fixating on mine. 

I took a breath, feeling uncomfortable as I said, “I’m a person. Sure, there’s the label of bogeyman, but fuck that for how much it dehumanises me. The important part is that I’m a person, I have a father, had a mother, went to school and a lot of shit happened there.” 

“I think I get it,” said Ainsley. 

Chloe nodded. 

Alister shook his head. 

“Of course  _ you  _ wouldn’t understand,” Molly muttered. “High school is shit,” she said to the others. “Teenagers are shitty.” 

“Imagine all the pranks you’ve pulled,” said Ainsley to Alister. “But this time think of it from the other perspective.” 

I felt a little naked, thinking about my time in high school, thinking about Emma, Sophia and Madison. These people didn’t know all the details, but they knew enough for the weakness to seep through. 

_ But it works,  _ I thought,  _ show weakness and they might pull back.  _

“Okay,” said Alister, “but—” 

“Don’t,” said Ainsley. “There’s a lot of shit I could bring up that even  _ you  _ wouldn’t be confident enough to tell people. Now imagine that you  _ had  _ to.” 

“I think I would if it were fighting for something I believed in,” he said. 

_ “I _ think the fact you're hedging that statement says enough,” said Penelope, her voice dry. “You’re talking shit, metaphorically speaking.” She took a breath. “Can we take a break for a bit? I need to go out for a smoke.” 

“Sure,” said Molly.

“I need some tea,” I said standing. 

“Juice, please,” said Ainsley. “Any that you have.” 

“Go outside and protect the perimeter,” I told my Crowned Other. It really wasn’t needed anymore. “I’ll give you a heads up in case there’s someone or something that needs to be dealt with.” 

Branches cracked as the Other moved. It had to crawl on its knees to pass through the door, but it got out. It wasn’t so tall that it should be heavy, but it lumbered as it walked. Not a fighter but a stalker, which was one of the reasons I’d been able to catch up to it last night, and the reason it hadn’t put up much of a fight.

Crooner crooned and pointed outside. 

“Sure,” said Molly. “You guys don’t have to sit through this meeting.” 

Crooner left to go outside, while Nurse Waddingham stayed still, staring down the Duchamp girls. 

Molly followed me to the kitchen, pulling out cups and teabags while I put on the water. She pulled out a pitcher and poured some apple juice into it. I saw her for the first time since everything had started and she looked  _ tired. _

“That bad?” I said. 

“I keep thinking about what they said,” she said. She let out a small sigh. “What if it really is a good idea if I die?”

“Molly,” I said. “From the little I know about you, I can say for sure that you’re a good person.” I shook my head. “I think those guys are so jaded they can’t get past your family to see you.” 

She shook her head. “I don’t think I’m a good person. If I were, then maybe I  _ would  _ end things. At least with how much I’m starting to figure out.” 

“Starting to figure out?” 

She shook her head. “Just…complicated,” she said. 

“And you don’t know if you can trust me,” I said. 

She made a so-so gesture. “I know I can trust you in a lot of things. I don’t think you’re going to kill me, but…there’s other things that give me doubt, you know?”

“I can guess,” I said. 

She nodded, quiet as we made more sandwiches. I couldn’t touch anything directly because it would taint it with Abyss dirt, but I could slice some cheese without having to hold it. She pulled out more cookies and we went to the living room just as Penelope came back in, the stink of cigarette smoke on her. 

“We can continue,” she said and we started anew.

“So, questions that can be asked,” said Ainsley. She had our tenth draft of the contract. I hadn’t been keeping track of time, but we’d been talking more than two hours, which wasn’t counting bathroom breaks. Not having to  _ go  _ really brought perspective on how many times people excused themselves to go to the toilet. “But they can be vetoed with explanation as to the veto. For a veto to be overturned, it needs consensus from all the leaders of the families that will be present in the party with the exception of Taylor.”

“We should add a clause,” said Penelope. “This is still giving too much ground. We’re essentially giving  _ her  _ the right to overturn a veto.” She directed that at Molly.

“A stipulation of fairness,” said Ainsley. “As much as is possible, you’ll act as an impartial third party would, given similar authority to cast a vote?”

Molly waited a second, her eyes closed as she worked through the statement. She finally nodded after a minute. “I think that sounds fair, but I’ll have to read it out, make sure there’s nothing I’m missing.” 

“Okay,” said Ainsley. “Questions can only start being asked when we arrive in Reno,” she said and I nodded. “Only questions asked face-to-face will be answered, and nothing electronic or through some scrying type deal—” 

“We’re going to have to find another phrasing,” said Charlotte, her voice tight. “You can see and hear through your bugs. You could keep your distance from us and never have to answer.” 

“Questions will be asked if they’re within the range of my power,” I offered. 

Alister scowled. “With how fast you came up with that, you’re making me think you might be trying to pull a fast one on us.”

“Or I’m quick-witted,” I said. 

“Touche,” he said with a grin.

“We’ll be offering our power in helping Reno,” Ainsley continued. “You’ll be directing us, which has the clause that you’ll do all that’s in your power to make sure we aren’t hurt. Of course this is only enforceable if there isn’t undue negligence on our part.” 

“I’d like a definition of undue,” said Chloe. Ainsley nodded, making a note.

“Which takes us back to the complicated part of this,” I said. “How much power will you be offering? I can’t help but think you might use this to not do anything.” 

“The power granted by our families and our positions in said families,” said Penelope.

“I don’t know how much power that is,” I said. “I think I’d like it better if it was quantified.” 

“Not that easy,” said Alister. “That’s like trying to break down the appreciation of art into neat elements of  _ why  _ people like it. We have power but it’s not power-level type power. We can’t say six hundred and be done with it.” 

“Then what can you say?” I asked. 

“They can say they’ll use their reserve of power as if they were fighting to protect one of their family members,” said Molly. “I don’t know names, but it would have to be specific, can’t be some random cousin down the line, and someone who can’t protect themselves so they actually have to  _ fight  _ instead of thinking that so-and-so would be able to take care of themselves.” 

I felt the shift, noted how Penelope suddenly sat up straight and I knew that Molly was on the mark. I nodded. “It’s acceptable on my end. It gives me an impression that no one will be holding back.” 

“Except Molly, I hope,” said Alister. He tried to sound light but his tone was tight, his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. 

“Sure,” I said, brushing past that. “Does everyone agree to the terms?”

“We’ll have to examine the precise wording of the contract,” said Penelope, “but they’re provisionally acceptable.” 

“Duration next,” said Ainsley. “We don’t really know what’s going on in Reno or the scale of it, so let’s tentatively say we’ll try and wrap things up in a week. It should be enough time that we won’t miss anything too important.” 

“A week from when we arrive,” I said. “With exceptions to make other deals when we’re there.” 

“Yeah, that’s cool,” said Alister and Penelope nodded. 

“The wording on how to make sure you’re the only ones who know these secrets,” I said. 

_ This  _ was the hardest part. I wanted to cover my bases, which meant I said a lot, wrote down a lot, read it carefully, let it sit for a quarter of an hour before reading it again. 

Then Alister, the bastard, would pick at something small, point to an ambiguity I was  _ sure  _ he’d noticed before, and that forced us to start the whole thing over again. 

“…Written in any form, whether it be physical or electronic. The knowledge gained here, directly or indirectly—” That had been a point of contention but easing this restriction opened up other problems I hadn’t been willing to put up with. “—Won’t be uttered in the presence of a person not part of the mission—I’ll outline the specifics of the mission to take out the wiggle room—won’t be thought where there’s reasonable suspicion that the thoughts can be read or something similar—” The last was ambiguous, but that would help cover bases I didn’t know enough to anticipate “—And all steps will be taken to protect dreams that could come as a result.”

“Gonna have to read through a  _ lot  _ of stuff to make sure I can ward for dreams,” Chloe muttered. 

“Price of dealing,” I said. 

“Let’s get the final draft prepared,” said Charlotte. “I was planning to do other stuff today.” 

We spent another hour was spent looking over the contract, which wasn’t a final draft because there were more words and required definitions so we all better understood what we meant. 

After more than six hours of obsessing over finicky shades of meaning, we signed our names in blood. 

“Prep should be done by tomorrow,” said Alister. “I’ll have to borrow the truck, but most of us should be able to ride in it.”

“We’ll take our own car,” said Penelope. 

“Ditto,” said Molly. “But I’m not a confident driver so it might take us longer to get there.”

“That’s going to take so much longer if we’re travelling at night to hide the bogeymen,” Alister muttered, but he shrugged. “We’ll make it there by morning and the cover should give us time to get a sense of the situation before we start making a plan.”

“See you guys tomorrow, then,” I said. Nods were shared and the day was done. We tracked them until they left the property before we relaxed. 

“I’m going to need help putting up some protective sigils around the house,” Molly said. “I can’t take the chance that someone will try something.” 

I nodded. “Tell me what you need and I’ll do my best,” I said. 

We got to work.


	18. Chapter 18

**Affirmed**

**3.05**

 

“I’m sensing a few Others,” I said. We’d left at eight, as soon as it had been dark enough to hide my Crowned Other’s large form as he rode on the back of Alister’s pickup. Now it was nearing midnight and only animals and Others would be out and about. Thankfully, all of them were infested with bugs and I didn’t have to worry about sending scouts out.

Molly’s hands closed tightly around the steering wheel, but she kept her eyes on the road. Alister drove in front of us, his headlights outfitted to shine further. She drove in the middle of our three groups, which forced her to drive faster than she normally would.

Small mercies. The darker it was, the slower she wanted to drive. I made a mental note to ask her to teach me to drive because I didn’t think I could stand any more of this.

“Hopefully they don’t attack us while we’re driving,” said Marie. She sat in the back, her hands on the back of our seats and her head peeking through the gap in the middle so she could see the road ahead. “The PE Teacher had a course on hunting and he said attacking people in cars is easier. You just have to throw a rock and they’ll veer off the road. Sometimes all you have to do is just stand in the middle of the road.”

“You’re not making this any easier,” Molly muttered. She glanced to the left and right, not that she could see much. The trees were so closely clustered together that they seemed to suck in all light. Something could be hiding just beyond the edge of the road and Molly wouldn’t be able to see it until it was too late.

“I’m not trying to make you feel better,” said Marie, mirth in her voice. I glanced back and saw that the girl was smiling.

Crooner and Nurse Waddingham sat on either side of Marie, with the former having made himself smaller so they could all comfortably fit. I had my bugs in the trunk and others stowed under the car—anywhere they could keep warm. I’d done the same thing in Penelope and Alister’s cars, making sure I had bugs in case something happened along the way.

Not that bugs should be trouble to get.

“They aren't close enough to do that,” I said. “There’s one that’s got the form of a wolf but it’s hunting another Other, moving away from us.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried binding anything,” said Molly.

“We’re moving too fast,” I said. I’d felt things that might be Goblins and I’d tried to get some silk, but the moment the spiders had generated enough to make a circle, we’d already passed.

“Of course,” said Molly and I caught the flicker of a smile. “You have a plan, yet? Thoughts on how we’re going to deal with things?”

“Recon first, see the situation we’re dealing with and maybe look for the guy that’s already there.”

“Penelope said Fell. We should be able to use that name to get a connection. Whether he’ll listen or not…” Molly shrugged.

“We’ll have to work by ourselves if he’s got his own thing going,” I said. “I’m hoping there won’t be animosity between our groups so that, even if we aren’t working together, we at least won’t be working  _ against  _ each other.”

Molly snorted. “I’m a little worried about how my karma will mess things up,” she said.

“We’ll figure it out,” I said. “Part of dealing with your karma is doing good things, right?”

She nodded.

“Let’s hope the spirits are smart enough to know that getting in your way isn’t helping to get balance.”

“The thought of depending on how smart the spirits are doesn’t fill me with much hope,” she said.

“You should always have hope,” said Marie. “It’s the only way to make it through the bad times.”

Crooner crooned. I looked back and he had his thumbs up.

“If  _ bogeymen  _ think that, I think it’s worth listening to,” I said.

“Easier said than done,” Molly muttered.

I shrugged. “Crooner,” I said. “Can you give me some signs? The cliff notes. Simple things like forward, attack, hold, and so on.”

I moved bugs into the car and put some on his fingers. It was slippery, making it hard for my bugs to get purchase, but suddenly that changed and my bugs became stuck in something syrupy. He started moving his hand, making a sign: index and middle finger held straight and then pointed forward.

“Forward?”

He nodded. He held up a fist.

“Stop?” I said.

He shook his head, then held up the okay sign.

“Okay?” I said and he nodded, then held both hands out, starting close before going apart. “Growing?” He shook his head, then his hand went to his stomach, holding it away from his stomach. “Fat?”

“Big,” said Marie, she’d turned so she looked at Crooner while still leaning on Molly’s seat.

Crooner put a hand on his nose, then made a stirring motion with a finger.

“Synonyms for big,” I said.

“Large, enormous, gigantic, ginormous—” Marie rattled.

“Wide?” I said, remembering the motion he’d made. Crooner touched his nose again.

“Broad,” Nurse Waddingham said. “The raised fist meant understood.”

“Wait, you know sign language?” said Marie.

“Yes,” Nurse Waddingham said. “But this is not sign language, only military hand-signals.”

“There might be some online,” said Molly. “My phone’s in my pocket,” she added before I could ask.

I fished it out, unlocked it and started searching for pictures of military hand-signals.

“Let’s try again and I’ll match them,” I said.

Crooner nodded and he did it again. There were some differences between his hand signals and those in the pictures, but enough were the same that I could be reasonably able to understand him during combat.

We drove another thirty minutes, and I spent that time getting a sense of Crooner’s communication style and paying attention to my range before we began to approach a gas station. The first thing I noticed was the smell, something so sweet that it drew bugs. When I tapped into their senses, I saw glimmers of a bright light, so bright that bugs flew into them and died.

Bug zappers.

I took control and moved them through the gas station, tagging anything I could. There were three people there, one of them sitting in the manager’s office, another standing behind a counter while the last mopped the floor. Each of them had keen enough senses that they noticed the moment I started to tag them.

The one with the mop said something in a language I couldn’t understand. Not English and not Spanish, Japanese or Mandarin that I could at least  _ identify  _ even if I didn’t understand it, but something else.

“Possible trouble,” my bugs said. Our car veered before it straightened again. Alister and Penelope's cars hadn’t done the same.

_ “Jesus,”  _ Molly muttered.

“What?” said Penelope as Ainsley said something similar.

“I don’t know yet,” I said through my bugs said. 

The man with the mop started to move, killing bugs every time they tried to settle on him, even when they came at him from a blind spot; the woman from behind the counter moved to a window and looked outside, her face tilted up, at a swarm that was starting to form in dark patches.

“But they can see in the dark,” I said. “They’re Others.”

“Attack,” said Alister.

I didn’t question it. I pulled in bugs and moved them forward. The woman moved back to her counter, reached under it, and pulled out the sort of whip people used for BDSM. The Cleaner reached the office at the back, said something to the Manager. The Manager returned a word then picked up a phone.

“Fuck,” bugs said. “They’re making a call.”

My bugs surged towards the Manager’s office to harry him, but they didn’t get that far. The Cashier cracked her whip and the tassels took out a large swathe of the swarm. She quickly reared her arm back and swept it forward again, I moved the bugs back and it didn’t matter. A crack reverberated and many of my bugs died.

“…bug spirit,” the Manager said over the phone. “Maybe a practitioner’s thrall…Yes.”

Enough bugs had survived that they got into the room.  The Cleaner spun his mop and I felt the strands of the mop wind together, forming a cone that turned into an axe-blade topped with a spear; he finished the motion with a slash, conjuring a wind that cut the closest bugs and pushed those that were further away. The Manager said something, the glimmer of a laugh in his voice as he stood and stretched.

The Cleaner killed more of my bugs as they stepped out of the office, going to the Cashier who was still holding back bugs with her whip.

She said something, inflected up at the end. A question.

The man nodded and the three left the station, taking off in runs that were too fast to be human.

“Too late,” said Alister. “We need to be prepared for a fight.”

He hit his hazards and started to slow, and Molly and Penelope followed suit. We stopped on the side of the road.

“Are we fighting?” said Marie.

“Very likely,” I said.

We stopped and got out, coming together near Molly’s car. It was cold out, at least going by the others' reactions. They had their jackets closed, scarves pulled up around their faces and Charlotte was blowing into her hands.

“Moon and Tower,” said Alister, the first to speak. The hand that held his deck was shivering from the cold. I was gathering bugs, doing my best to keep track of the trio as they moved. I couldn’t get bugs directly on them, so I had to use lines of silk to get a sense of their actions.

When the lines were low they jumped over them; when they were high, they moved beneath them.  _ Always  _ they seemed to spot where the lines were and they easily passed through them and I didn’t have enough time to work in scale. I couldn’t form traps or enough silk that it wouldn’t snap as they passed through.

I pulled my spiders back and formed a perimeter so we would know when they were close.

“The Moon is illusion, fear, anxiety, insecurity and subconscious,” said Alister. “I’m feeling that illusion and subconscious are important. The Tower is disaster, upheaval and sudden change.”

“Bad odds?” said Ainsley.

“Rather not say,” said Alister.

The trio moved in the way of a cluster of bugs and I saw them for the first time: The Manager was fat, but he stepped lightly, to the point that the bugs on the ground couldn’t even feel his footfalls; the Cleaner was thinner, taller than the Manager; and the Cashier was of average height, slightly bulky but moving with the same unnatural grace.

She noticed my bugs and snapped her whip, killing most before they could get out of the way.

“They’re graceful,” I said. “They remind me of Padraic.”

“Faerie?” said Penelope. “But this is a Goblin attack. Faerie and Goblins hate each other.”

“I don’t think that should be the point,” said Molly. “We’re going to be fighting  _ Faerie,”  _ she said. “Glamour. Deception. Expectation subversion.”

“Lucky for us we have Duchamps with us,” said Alister, looking toward Penelope.

She shook her head. “I don’t make it a point to deal with the Fae,” she said. “Osheen, if you’d help us?”

“I’d tell you to run, my lady,” the bird on Penelope’s shoulder said.

Alister had finished cutting his deck. “Doesn’t go too well for us if we run,” he said. “Better if we stand and fight.”

_ “Cars,”  _ Marie said sagely.

“And they might flank us,” I put in. They were closer now and they were easily weaving through the webs I’d laid out, largely dodging them, but here and there I’d feel the shiver of a line at a disturbance. I clustered lines more closely together ahead of them, forcing them to pass through them instead of dodging. Above and beyond the lines, I still had small bugs drifting in the air, feeling as they died when they got too close to the Faeries.

The bird sighed and took off, flying a bit into the air and bursting into yellow light before it dissolved into the form of an old man wearing wearing silken clothes, a short, puffy cloak and carrying a thin silver sword. He was dressed well but his wrinkled face seemed tired. His back was bent and it felt like he should have a cane to keep standing.

_ Appearances can be deceiving,  _ I thought, catching myself before I could dismiss him.

I moved to the trunk and popped it open so I could pull on my gear. Costume first because it helped me feel more comfortable; then my knives in their holsters; then the goblin chain around my left arm, and my heat chains over my chest; and last my rifle fitting comfortably in my hand.

I turned my mind back to the trio and— _ fuck. _

“They’ve split up,” I said.

“What?” said Molly. Marie and Nurse Waddingham were at her side while Crooner was breathing in, holding air and making himself bigger. My Crowned Other only stood still, the tallest here—but I felt like it wouldn’t put up much of a fight.

“I’m seeing two, now,” I said. “The Manager disappeared when I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Faeries will do that,” said Charlotte, her voice small. The Duchamps looked different now. Charlotte was meek, standing close to Molly, no weapons bared; Chloe had a pistol held in both hands while her eyes scanned the area; and Penelope stood behind Osheen, her expression hard.

Alister stood straight, one hand in his pocket and now he had a clockwork arachnid that had an hourglass set within its large thorax standing in front of him; Ainsley had a stack of orange post-it notes in her hand and nothing else.

“Keep it on your mind,” said Osheen. “When we all slip, dealing with the others, it’ll pop out, hit those that can’t fight.”

“Marie and Nurse Waddingham, protect Molly and Charlotte,” I said.

“What about us?” said Alister. “Don’t we deserve protection?”

I ignored him, focusing on the Faeries coming for us at speed. It would be minutes before they arrived.

“Focus,” I said, levelling my rifle in the direction they would come. “Let’s make sure we don’t lose anyone.”

I glanced at no one, only focusing on the fight. For once, Alister said nothing, cutting his desk.

“Duck!” he said and we did, some more quickly than others. I dropped low just as the windshield shattered behind us, quickly followed by screams. Molly, Charlotte and Ainsley had been closest to the car and they were cut down by large shards of glass. Now they were on the ground, scrambling back as the Manager landed.

He was bigger than he’d felt in his office, both taller and more rotund, with ruddy cheeks, pale brown hair and a thick moustache that hid a sharp grin.

He moved to kick Molly and stopped short, a knife flicking past his face before it turned. He quickly brought up his hand, catching the wire connected to the knife and grunting as it cut into his hand. I levelled my rifle, braced and squeezed the trigger. The Manager noticed and stepped out of the way of my shot, which put him in the way of a slash from Nurse Waddingham. He caught her hand and flung her aside, sending her crashing into the car before she rolled over it.

Marie threw and the knife hit and punctured his cheek, letting loose a spray of blood that petered out before it could hit Marie. Marie, though, had already moved out of the way, another knife ready to throw, but she held back as Crooner stepped forward and swiped a massive hand at the Faerie.

The Manager pushed himself back, disappearing into a sliver of glass that was still connected to the window.

Penelope rushed forward, going to Chloe while Alister stood back, scanning our surroundings and keeping an eye on his deck. Nurse Waddingham stepped around the car looking unfazed by the throw. She noticed Molly and moved to help her.

“Stop,” I told her.

“I can stitch the cuts,” said Nurse Waddingham.

“Which worries me,” I said. “Penelope, take care of them. The rest of us, stay alert.”

I had bugs in the air but I couldn’t cluster them too closely. If I did I would be making it harder for my companions to see and that would impede us. But I could focus them, and so I moved some bugs to the  cars to cover each window completely. I hoped that would give me some tell if the Manager tried to use the mirror trick again.

“Remember that it’s just glass,” said Penelope. “With the impact it wouldn’t have been moving too fast, which cuts down the force it should have. Any injuries should be cosmetic.”

Which was hard to wrap my head around because there was so much blood. The glass must have been imbued with Faerie magic because it had easily slipped through clothes, cutting into arms and chest. Molly had gotten the worst of it and half her face was bloody.

“Glamour is bullshit,” said Alister. He cut his deck then glanced at me. “The more you buy into the bullshit, the more powerful the bullshit is.”

“Bullshit?” a voice said, coming from the cars. It was deep and melodic, almost fatherly; it got into the air and bounced around so it came from every direction.

“Yes, bullshit,” said Alister. He cut his deck, gave it a glance and said, “like the voice thing. Voices don’t work like that. Echoes don’t work like that. There’s too much wind and there are too many trees for the bouncing to be that clear. The sound would get lost.”

“We need first aid supplies,” said Penelope.

“There's some in the trunk,” I said and I started moving.

“Spoken with such conviction for one that’s so unsure—”

“Bullshit,” Alister cut in and he snorted. I noticed that the echo was gone, the  _ volume  _ was gone from the Manager’s voice. “You must be off your game, fat fuck, because I don’t do unsure.”

“That’s close to a lie,” said the Faerie.

“You  _ hope  _ it’s close to a lie,” he said. “Minor shit like you. Exiled and then captured by Goblins?” He snorted again. “I think you’re shaking right now.”

I opened the trunk and pulled out the kit, which I threw on the ground next to my injured party members. Penelope focused on her work, going to Molly first and wiping away a lot of the blood. She found some rubbing alcohol and dabbed it on the cuts, which were smaller than I thought they’d be.

Ainsley worked on herself. She cut her jacket off and wiped away her own blood, bandaged one arm when she discovered the cut was deep. Charlotte was stuck, breathing hard and leaning against the car, not making any sound.

Why had she come here if she didn’t do well in combat?

Not important right now.

“Faeries are close,” I said.

“Then the fat one will attack again,” said Osheen.

“Waiting like a  coward instead of coming at us head on,” said Alister, a tight grin on his face. “Knows I beat him in the word game.” He let out a short laugh. “I wonder what Padraic will think when I tell him this, maybe he’ll tell others and it’ll reach the Courts. They’ll know what a weak fuck this—”

Osheen threw his sword in the air and the Manager appeared. I levelled my gun and shot in the same instant. Faerie couldn’t fly; they had glamour but even  _ it  _ had limits, and with his trajectory there was no way he could dodge.

I hit my mark. The devastation the bullet caused was large, taking out a chunk of the Manager’s gut and blowing him back. I judged where he would fall and shot again. He twisted, dodged the first bullet but couldn’t do the same with the follow up. I hit his shoulder, taking out another chunk that left his arm connected by a strand of muscle.

“A fat arm like that shouldn’t be able to hold on!” Alister said and the arm fell off.

“Grab the arm,” said Chloe, just as there was crack from her pistol. The Faerie dodged, stepping into the way of a knife that materialised from the air; it slid down his face, taking out one eye. Marie’s trick. She’d spun a knife on a string, let it fly into the air just so it could hit the Faerie when he was distracted.

Bugs wound fear-infused silk around the arm and pulled the arm forward. The Manager started to move forward but I fired my rifle, forcing him to dodge; Chloe shot immediately after me, trying to catch the Faerie while he was distracted but it didn’t work.

Another knife fell out of the air but the Faerie caught it, throwing it back a moment later. The flight was fast, whistling as it cut through the air. A post-it note fluttered into the air, carried by the wind in the direction of the knife. Knife and note met, and the knife lost, stopping in place.

The Manager ran.

Alister moved out of the way and the knife continued with unabated momentum, lodging the metal of the car.

“Thanks,” Alister said.

Ainsley gave him a tight smile.

“They’ve stopped,” I said. “They’re talking in a language I don’t know.”

“Can you relay?” said Osheen.

I shook my head. “None of what they’re saying sounds like words. I’d be making sounds, but I might miss nuance.”

“Not worth the effort, then,” said Osheen. He went to pick up his sword.

“That’s a liability,” said Alister. “They can move through reflections. You might think about putting it away.”

“It was a trap,” Osheen countered. “Giving them a place to move through that we can predict.”

“I don’t think it’ll work twice,” I said.

“No,” said Osheen. “This sword is part of my legend and I control it. It will no longer reflect light in the conventional sense, at least until this is done.”

The arm arrived, in surprisingly good condition for something I’d blown off and dragged on the ground.

“Glamour,” said Penelope. “We might be able to paint relationships over with it, but I’d rather we took the Fat Fuck out of the picture before we use it. It’s his and he could use it against us.”

“It’s his but we won it,” said Chloe. “We bested him for it, that should mean something.”

“It should, but let’s not bet on it,” she said. She’d moved from Molly to Penelope. The latter wasn’t as hurt, just in shock.

“Are you alright?” I asked Molly, which in retrospect was a stupid question.

“Alive. I don’t think I’m going to die from these injuries,” she said.

“You shouldn’t,” said Penelope. “Don’t even get it in your head that you should or the glamour might take hold.”

Molly nodded.

“Marie,” I said. She looked to me. “Good job with the knife.”

Marie smiled and bowed a little before focusing forward.

“They’ve split up again,” I said and I pointed. They were all on one side of the road but they were forcing us to look in three directions. The Cashier was still taking out my bugs to keep me from seeing, but at least I knew where she was; the Cleaner was moving the fastest, coming at us directly. He would reach us first. The Fat Fuck was to our left.

“Everyone ready,” I said, levelling my gun.

The Cleaner broke through the trees, taller than he’d been before and holding a halberd half again as long as he was tall. The moment he showed, he lunged forward and swung, the air singing around the halberd’s blade. All of us jumped aside, but the halberd sliced Molly’s car in half.

“Cut  _ this,”  _ I muttered, bringing my rifle round to bear on him. He moved his staff to bat my weapon aside but Crooner was on the ball, grabbing the staff and pulling it back. I fired and the Cleaner moved to the side, then dropped low to dodge the follow up shot.

A knife fell from the air and the Cleaner danced out of its way. Osheen got to his feet and slashed at the halberd, cutting it cleanly in half. I directed a large swarm of bugs at him and he pulled back, moving his broken staff and cutting through my bugs.

_ Which shouldn’t be possible with wood,  _ I thought as I shot, forcing him to dodge. Immediately I noticed a difference; he wasn’t cutting through my bugs but beating them aside. Sometimes he beat them to death, but most escaped, getting closer.

Silk started to wind around him, catching arms and legs. Bugs reached his face and struggled to bite into tough skin. I went for his eyes and found that they were protected by a thin film of skin.

“Do Faerie have the cataract thing like crocodiles?” I asked.

Penelope frowned, shaking her head. Glamour. Everything was a lie and it was fuelled by belief. The moment I realised that, my bugs found it easier it was to chew through the film of skin, get into his eyes and start to eat them. The Cleaner moved back, moving to pull something from his pocket, but stopped short as his arm was caught by silk.

A knife fell from the air, cutting through my bugs to hit the Cleaner before the Cashier cracked her whip, killing a large swathe of bugs and pushing the knife off course.

We had two faeries now: one with a broken halberd and another with a whip so black it was stark against the night. The Cleaner moved and my silk snapped. He reached for something at his side, a bottle, and poured it over his head, drenching himself. When I tried to land bugs on him, they quickly died and any silk on him started to melt.

The Fat Fuck finally managed to come out from amongst the trees, still armless and still with a chunk of his gut missing. Not that it seemed to bother him.

“You missed,” Alister said, pushing all of his smugness into the words. The Fat Fuck’s features warped, going feral before they relaxed.

“We’ll take that arm back,” said the Cashier. “And return the favour three times over.”

“Not gonna happen,” said Alister. “There are more of us, even if you’re older. Bigger chance we’ll win.”

“Probability,” said the Cleaner. “A lie humans tell themselves when so much of the world is riddled with exceptions.”

“It’s in their nature to hold onto feeble hopes,” said the Fat Fuck, his voice getting lost in the wind. “Gives them a sense—”

“Don’t get trapped by their rhythm,” Osheen interrupted. “It’s an illusion as is everything else. They’re planning something.” 

_ Don’t give the thinker time to setup,  _ I thought.

I turned, aimed, shot. The Cashier moved out of the way in the same instant she threw her whip at us; a post-it note took flight, but the whip jumped out of the way and continued towards us. It was fast, _unexpected_ , but the Crowned Other suddenly darted forward, grabbed the whip and _stopped._

I saw the Cashier's shock as she tried to pull back her whip and found it didn’t budge. Crooner grabbed the Cashier’s whip and began to slowly reel her in; the woman could have let her whip go but she seemed so attached to it that she was trying to defeat the Bogeyman in a test of strength. 

The Cleaner stabbed forward with a new halberd, blade and wood sprouting from the broken end, and Osheen parried it with his sword, and the two began to duel. Marie continued to throw knife after knife, hitting the knives the Fat Fuck was throwing at me out of the air.

Penelope took the severed arm while she beckoned Chloe forward, taking her gun.

I focused on the Cashier, watching for a moment of weakness before I shot. I got her leg and she dropped to one knee. Crooner flailed the whip, forcing the woman to let go before she was thrown. She came up, reaching for her side and pulling out a knife. She started a limping run forward, her features etched with rage at the loss of her whip.

Bugs landed on her and died, just as they had with the Cleaner.

“Skitter,” said Alister. I glanced and he pointed at the Cleaner. I levelled my gun and shot. He started to move out of the way, but he moved in slow motion. The force of my bullet's blow turned his face to mush and blasted him back a few feet.

The Cashier stopped and hissed, stepping back to gain distance. She flicked her hand and the whip Crooner was still holding turned into twine.

_ That was part of the illusion, showing us weakness and making us focus on her while the others prepared to attack in force. _

Marie grunted, stumbling back, and I noticed a silver dagger stuck in her chest. I glanced at the Fat Fuck, who was already poised to throw another dagger. He stumbled back as a shot from Chloe’s gun reverberated through his body. Another bullet struck the hand with the knife, forcing him to drop it, and another bullet bent on its course through the air, turning to strike him in the left shoulder. The Fat Fuck’s eyes opened wide as still another bullet found his heart.

He slumped, still alive but breathing hard.

The Cashier hissed, started to turn—

“An oath was made and it won’t be kept,” said Alister. The Cashier stopped. “I call you Forsworn, Faerie. Argue against me if you think you’ll succeed.”

The Cashier turned, her beauty gone and replaced by something animalistic. Her features became stretched, her hair moved wildly with the wind and her teeth became sharp.

“You made an oath that you and your compatriots would get back this arm, that you would repay the favour three times over. You won’t be doing that.”

“I stated no time,” she said, “and I still live,  _ they  _ still live.” She stepped back. I levelled my gun but Alister held up a hand. “We can always get the arm back and repay the favour in the future.”

Penelope pulled out a lighter and threw it on the arm. It caught fire quickly, bursting into flames and letting out a sickly sweet smell into the air.

“Your move,” said Penelope.

“For a second time I call you Forsworn,” said Alister. “Argue against me, but fail a second and third time and I’ll claim you as mine, in mind, body and spirit, in knowledge and experience. I’ll claim all of your glamour as mine, leaving you only your debts.”

“Name your price,” she said.

“Go back to your master,” said Alister. “Kill them if you can; if you can’t, kill their strongest minion. You have three hours to achieve this or you will find us to accept another order.”

The woman nodded and turned away, taking off at speed.

Alister sighed.

“I should be able to cut the others' relationships and bind them,” said Penelope. “Maybe we can get another glamour.”

Alister nodded.

“Marie,” said Molly. “How are you doing?”

“Barely holding on,” said Marie. “He hit me over the heart. I can feel the Abyss.”

“You need a victory,” said Molly. “Something to get your spirits up.”

“That’d be nice,” said Marie.

“Can we fix the car?” I said. “It was destroyed by glamour.”

“We bought into it and that had an effect,” said Penelope. “If we were better with glamour then we’d be able to fix it, but with so many of us here, we might question it and it might break at the worst possible time. Better we just let it go, consider it totalled.”

_ “Fuck,”  _ Molly muttered.


End file.
